Ian Wright has heaped praise on one Liverpool player whose impact at Anfield is similar to that of a Manchester City counterpart.
Prior to the two teams meeting at Anfield next Sunday, Darwin Nunez has been in fine form, scoring in each of his last three Premier League games, including the 99th-minute winner against Nottingham Forest on Saturday (Transfermarkt).
The champions are seeing a similar impact from Phil Foden, who’s netted seven times in all competitions since the start of February, including two in the Manchester derby win over United last weekend (Transfermarkt).
Wright was reflecting on Liverpool’s last-gap win at the City Ground on the Wrighty’s House podcast when he singled out the contribution of the Uruguay striker.
The 60-year-old said: “I love that. I love the way they did it. I’m delighted for Nunez because he gets so much [criticism], but he’s Captain Chaos and something’s happening. Something’s happening off of him. He’s one of those players. Like Foden is [for Man City], he is that one for Liverpool.”
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As Wright referenced, Nunez had to face more than his fair share of critics in his first 18 months at Liverpool, but his form in 2024 so far has been magnificent, with six goals and four assists in all competitions since the turn of the year (Transfermarkt).
Our attacking options have been depleted in recent weeks by the injuries to Mo Salah and Diogo Jota, but the 24-year-old has stepped up massively in their absences, and his overall performances show that he’s not merely stat-padding with his goal tally.
Just as the Reds’ defence will need to be at their sharpest to thwart the in-form Foden, Guardiola will be imploring the Man City backline to be on full alert in trying to deal with our number 9, who netted against the Sky Blues on his LFC debut in the Community Shield two summers ago.
Liverpool could potentially have their Egyptian superstar back for Sunday, but even if he doesn’t make it, the threat that Nunez poses gives them every chance of repeating last season’s Anfield victory over the Manchester outfit.