Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola spoke about the potential of Matheus Nunes ahead of the trip to Aston Villa
Manchester City win at Brentford
Matheus Nunes has been key to recent Manchester City wins
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Pep Guardiola said that Matheus Nunes can become one of the best right-backs as the former Wolves star seeks another big moment against Aston Villa.
Nunes struggled to break into the Manchester City midfield when he arrived from Molineux in the summer of 2023, but did get opportunities last season at right-back amid injuries and the unexpected January departure of Kyle Walker. He had some struggles in a team that had plenty of them, but his finest moment came when he scored the winner at the Etihad against Villa in a game that was crucial for City confirming Champions League football for this season.
Guardiola initially turned to Rico Lewis and Abdukodir Khusanov for that position this season, but an injury to the Uzbek saw Nunes back into the fold and he has not looked back since. Another strong performance against Villarreal in midweek puts the Portugal international in pole position to start at Villa Park on Sunday when City hope to put up a much better fight than they did last year in losing 2-1.
"That game helped us to be in the Champions League this season," said Guardiola. "It was a battle against many clubs and that goal helped us a lot after the setback in Southampton. It meant we had to go to Fulham to win.
"Always it’s been really tough, especially at Villa, it’s a really good test for how we are."
Nunes has taken time to adapt from midfield to defence and even at the beginning of the season he was teased by teammates for being categorised as a right-back. However, he has gone from strength to strength since Khusanov's injury and has played every league game since.
Guardiola has spoken with Nunes on a number of occasions to try to help the positional switch, and believes that if the 27-year-old fully commits to his new role he can go from makeshift to specialist.
"He can be an incredible right back. He's a midfielder with incredible physicality. As much as he focuses, he can become one of the best," he said.
"It’s a question of him now. We talk a lot about that, it's just change your mind and feel that you can feel that.
"He has special attributes to play on the sides. He has been unbelievable in the last two or three games."
City's loss at Villa Park last December was their sixth in eight Premier League matches as they dropped to seventh in the league amid the worst slump of Guardiola's career. This year they start the weekend in second place, ahead of champions Liverpool, and can stretch their unbeaten run to 10 in all competition if they avoid defeat to Unai Emery's side.
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