Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola brought Raheem Sterling on from the bench during his side’s clash with Real Madrid on Wednesday evening.
The Englishman played a part in both of City’s goals that earned them to a 2-1 victory in Spain in the first leg of the last 16 tie.
Guardiola’s decision to bring on Sterling could be bad news for Villa. Why?
Well, becuase the winger has just returned from injury and has now got some valuable minutes under his belt, meaning he could be ready to start in the Carabao Cup final on Sunday.
Sterling is a handful for any defender, proven by his display against Dani Carvajal on Wednesday night, so Villa may have to come up against his trickery from the first whistle, rather than only seeing him enter as a substitute.
Earlier this month, Guardiola confirmed Sterling would miss a few weeks with a hamstring injury but the 25-year-old is now fully fit and looks ready to go ahead of the final.
His return is a blow for Villa mainly because of his goalscoring threat, proven by the fact that he has scored 20 goals in all competitions this season (Transfermarkt).
Therefore, we believe that Guardiola’s decision to turn to Sterling at his time of need could force Dean Smith to reconsider his defensive plan, potentially overloading the right side of his defence to help stop the danger that Sterling can provide.
