Considering Manchester City are set to face Al-Hilal in the Round of 16 of the FIFA Club World Cup, Pep Guardiola is likely to name the strongest team he has picked so far in the competition.
Throughout the tournament, the Manchester City boss has rung in the changes to give playing time to virtually every player in the squad.
However, Pep Guardiola will be aware that Al-Hilal could be a potential banana skin for his City side, considering they have quality players in their ranks like Joao Cancelo and Ruben Neves and a world-class manager in Simone Inzaghi.
Considering Cancelo left Manchester City on a sour note, he will be driven by the prospect of knocking his former side out while his teammates would also like to upstage one of the best teams in the world.
Pep Guardiola must start Man City star Jeremy Doku vs Al-Hilal
As Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola will be deliberating over the team that should start against Al-Hilal, the player who should be the first name on his team sheet should be Jeremy Doku.
Doku, who Pep Guardiola called “incredible” has scored two goals in both of his appearances in the competition and based on form, he merits a starting place as the 23-year-old has arguably been City’s best player in the United States.
Jeremy Doku smiles following Manchester City's win over Juventus.
Photo by Elsa – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images
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The Belgian has shown that he could unleash the best version of himself next season, as he has not only tormented right-backs like Alberto Costa and Fahm Moufi but emerged as a dangerous outlet while being decisive in the final third — aspects of his game that have demanded improvement since day one.
While Pep Guardiola still has the utmost respect for Cancelo, he will know better than most that the Portuguese international can be suspect defensively and Doku could tear him to shreds in one-on-one situations.
At the Etihad Stadium as well, the former Juventus right-back had a tendency of losing his marker, such as when Mohamed Salah famously darted past him to score in Liverpool’s 1-0 win against City in 2022.
While Ousmane Dembele was a nightmare for Cancelo to come up against when Paris Saint-Germain beat Barcelona 4-1 last year and with Doku’s track record of troubling defenders, he could singlehandedly help Manchester City defeat Al-Hilal if he steps up to the plate.
Jeremy Doku already has a warning for Joao Cancelo
However, perhaps Pep Guardiola could give Omar Marmoush or Phil Foden the chance to play out wide, with Erling Haaland leading the line against Al-Hilal after his terrific cameo against Juventus.
But Marmoush and Foden are not traditional wingers and they are far more comfortable doing what they do best from central areas.
Cancelo would have every reason to be worried if the £55.5 million man Doku keeps his place in the Manchester City side against Al Hilal, considering he has always had the mentality of making life hell for defenders.
The former Rennes winger told RMC Sport: “When I was 16, what I wanted was that the defender I’m playing against, I don’t want him to sleep after.”
“Like, I want to kill him. After [we play], I want him to hate me.”
Doku clearly backs himself to take on any defender he comes up against and if he is on his A-game, Cancelo could have one of the most difficult outings of his career.