Manchester City: Nico Gonzalez is in top form, Manchester City no longer has to worry too much about Rodri s absence

So far this season, Manchester City midfielder Nico Gonzalez has played 16 times on behalf of the team and has yet to score or assist. The "Manchester Evening News" wrote an article saying that he can replace Rodri's role, although Guardiola took 9 months to wait for Nico's best condition.

In the fourth round of the Champions League, Manchester City defeated Dortmund at home. Haaland scored again, Foden also performed well, and the team regained its momentum. But the game wasn't all positives.

It is easy to overlook that the night actually started on a discordant note, with Rodri's name once again missing from Manchester City's lineup. But Guardiola insisted there was nothing to worry about, and two hours later, that was indeed the case.

Guardiola has predicted that Rodri will not return to his best form until next summer, but there are undoubtedly some concerns about the 29-year-old player. Rodri suffered an ACL injury 14 months ago, which almost put his playing career on hold. Now Rodri is finding it increasingly difficult to return to his peak form.

The past week has fully demonstrated the ups and downs of Rodri's season. He was unable to play in the Carabao Cup tie against Swansea due to poor fitness; he then came on as a substitute against Bournemouth in the league but was absent again against Borussia Dortmund. Now, every time Rodri plays for Manchester City, it seems to be an extra reward.

Rodri has only started 6 games so far this season, and has not started since October 1st. Rodri has only played two of Manchester City's past eight games, totaling only 23 minutes. Getting him fully recovered and healthy will obviously be a difficult task. Obviously, Rodri will not be able to start the game against Liverpool, and the time when he can next start for Manchester City cannot be determined.

However, the reason why everyone is generally not too worried is not because of Rodri's improving health, but the rise of Nico Gonzalez. Manchester City seems to have found a solution to deal with Rodri's absence. Nico's performance prevented Rodri from rushing back into action, thereby avoiding further injury risks.

Generally speaking, every time Liverpool visits, people will worry about whether Manchester City can use Rodri. This kind of game requires a defensive midfielder who can stop the opponent's quick counterattacks. But this time, Manchester City will be missing the Golden Ball player and Nico will take his place. The team is not worried about this.

This will be Nico's 4th consecutive start and the second time in his Manchester City career that he has started 4 consecutive games. Nico has started 6 of the last 7 games. It is worth noting that the only game he did not start was when Manchester City lost at Villa Park.

Nico joined Manchester City from Porto in the winter window this year for 50 million pounds. So far, he has only played 30 times for Manchester City, but he has shown great potential in the limited time. Guardiola once called Nico "mini Rodri" after his second game, which may have put pressure on him prematurely as he was still adapting to his new playing field.

A few months later, Guardiola marginalized Nico, and even this summer, it looked like he only had half a year left in his Manchester City career. At the beginning of the season, Nico was on the bench for 4 consecutive games, although he started in the first two games of the season.

But he persevered and made the most of every opportunity. Manchester City has won all the past seven games in which Nico started. This is undoubtedly a convincing statistic. Nico is in his best form since joining Manchester City and will be an important part of the team against Liverpool. "Mini Rodri" is ready for the challenge.