Injury crisis offers 'frustrating' Manchester City player the perfect chance to step up in derby

Manchester City have a player who has been labelled “frustrating”, but who has been handed the perfect opportunity to prove people wrong when Manchester United visit this weekend.

The Citizens have had a poor start to the season, losing two of their three games and also suffering a number of injuries.

With the international break now over, Manchester City’s first-team stars will return to the Etihad Campus to prepare for the Manchester United clash.

Pep Guardiola will be without several key players for the derby, but this presents an opportunity to those who are on the fringes of the squad.

READ MORE: Further evidence emerges that Manchester City player is unhappy under Pep Guardiola – ‘these guys are joking’

Jeremy Doku has perfect opportunity to start and shine against Manchester United

One player who will fancy his chances of starting is Jeremy Doku, whose time at City continues to split opinion.

More Man City News

The 23-year-old is a great dribbler, but he often struggles on the chance-creating front, while his lack of consistency is also a point of contention.

Manchester City presenter Natalie Pike recently confirmed what a lot of fans have been thinking about Doku – namely that he can be “frustrating”.

Pike said of Doku: “When he gets the ball, everybody was excited – but now it’s getting to the point where it’s getting a little bit frustrating.”

Meanwhile, Paul Merson previously said of Doku: “I’m not a big fan of Jeremy Doku. I just think he does not make things happen often enough.”

However, two things have happened in recent days that suggest the Belgian can do well against Man United.

The first is that Doku registered two goals and an assist for Belgium against Kazakhstan last time out, displaying great composure and decision-making.

The second is that Omar Marmoush will miss the derby due to an injury suffered on international duty, putting Doku firmly in the picture to replace him.

READ MORE: Erling Haaland has said something which Gianluigi Donnarumma will hate and respect in equal measure

What Jeremy Doku has said about his form

Doku admitted while he was on international duty that he’s still going through the gears and is not yet in top form.

He said, as per Manchester World: “I’m not yet fully in form. I’ve always been critical of myself, I know when I’m good and then don’t play afterwards, it’s not in my hands.

“But I also say when I’m not good, and I know I haven’t been in the first three matches. But I know it will come quickly and everything will be fine.

“This season, I want to work on my stats. Football isn’t just about stats, but they matter. I want to find myself in the penalty area more often.”

Hopefully the Kazakhstan game is a sign that Doku has turned a corner and is now nearing top form – in which case, it’ll be exciting to see how he gets on against City’s rivals.

Click here to read article