Micah Richards reveals he’d ‘rather play against Doku’ as Belgian winger is chosen over Jack Grealish for Man City’s clash against Liverpool… with England international OUT through illness

• Richards reveals he’d rather play against Doku, as Grealish is left out of squad
• The English winger is out of the squad due to illness, with Doku stepping in
• City-Liverpool is tough to referee… but our campaign is up and running – IAKO 

Former Manchester City star Micah Richards has admitted he’d ‘rather play against Jeremy Doku than Jack Grealish’ ahead of Liverpool’s trip to the Etihad. 

Treble winners Man City are hosting rivals Liverpool at the Etihad, with both sides separated by one point in the Premier League table. 

Speaking before the match, Richards revealed that Jeremy Doku would be his preferred winger to play against, due to the likes of Phil Foden and Jack Grealish’s unpredictable play.

‘Grealish takes you in places you don’t want to go’ he added. 

Jeremy Doku has been selected in Man City’s starting line-up against Liverpool 

Boss Pep Guardiola revealed that a number of players have been unwell in the build-up

Grealish is out of the squad due to illness, with a number of players unwell according to Pep

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‘You know what Doku’s going to do… if you get to him with enough time, you can potentially stop him’ he went on to explain. 

‘I’d rather play against Doku’, the former defender revealed on Sky Sports.

Gary Neville joined the conversation, discussing who Trent Alexander-Arnold would like to play against: ‘There’s the element of saying the more predictable winger and that’s Grealish. 

‘Doku, you haven’t got a clue what he’s going to do. But what I would do is throw it the other way and ask who would Erling Haaland want on the ball in wide areas, who’s got the most accuracy, how can he read when he’s going to cross it. 

‘Doku is a box of tricks but he’s less accurate in passing. I think Pep Guardiola would have gone with Grealish today for the calmness, composure, and the delivery into the box, but you can’t deny Doku would be a nightmare to play against.

Jamie Carragher added: ‘When you look at the profile of Liverpool defenders, Konate is the perfect one if Trent finds himself in midfield and has to drive out and get in a 1-on-1 situation. 

‘You know what Doku’s going to do… if you get to him with enough time, you can potentially stop him’ Richards explained

Doku has registered five assists and scored twice for Man City in nine games this season

‘There’s no doubt Konate would be better than Matip in those roles. If Trent is isolated against Doku in those roles, there’s going to be big problems. But the running power from Szoboszlai is very big and he’s got the engine to get there, Matip can get across, they’ll have to.

Jack Grealish has been left out of Man City’s squad for the Liverpool clash, due to illness. Boss Pep Guardiola revealed that he was not the only one unwell in the build-up. 

‘A few unwell, vomit and so on’ Guardiola added. 

As a result, City have named just eight substitutes rather than nine, with two goalkeepers – Stefan Ortega and Scott Carson on the bench. 

Phil Foden, Bernardo Silva and Julian Alvarez are amongst the starting XI for the hosts. 

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