Confident City will have too much for Everton on Saturday Night Football, says pundit
Saturday 6 December 2014 14:12, UK
'Sensational' Sergio Aguero has given Manchester City confidence - and the Argentine can cause Everton serious problems on Saturday Night Football, says Jamie Redknapp...
In football you can’t put a price on confidence and what it does to a team – and Man City are flying at the moment.
I remember covering their Champions League away game at CSKA Moscow and it was probably the lowest point City have been at for the past few years. We wondered if they could bounce back, whether Manuel Pellegrini was the right man to take them forward tactically, why the players were playing within themselves and not looking for the ball.
Whoever can keep their current form going longest out of Aguero and Costa will have a league medal wrapped around their neck at the end of this season.
But since that win over Bayern Munich everybody has been lifted.
Sergio Aguero, as an individual, was responsible for that – his superb hat-trick kept their Champions League qualification hopes alive but has also had a big impact on his team-mates. You can see how they’ve grown since that game and their performances – in emphatic wins over Southampton and Sunderland - have been really good.
Aguero is the standout player, with his brace against Sunderland taking him to 14 Premier League goals this season and, as with Diego Costa at Chelsea, he’s taking the pressure off everyone else.
Having someone who can score goals at that rate makes a huge difference and I believe that whoever can keep their current form going longest out of Aguero and Costa will have a league medal wrapped around their neck at the end of this season.
The pair of them are different class, playing for the two outstanding teams in the division. I can’t see anybody else matching them and it’ll be a straight battle between those two players - and their two clubs - for the title. Chelsea are favourites right now but there’s such a long way to go.
The secret to Aguero’s success this season is fitness. It’s as simple as that. Last year and during the World Cup he didn’t look fit. He was picking up injuries all the time. But now he’s purring.
I don’t know if they’ve got a new training regime for him at City but hopefully, for everyone who loves watching football, they may have just found the answer to keeping him fit.
This is probably as good as I’ve ever seen him. It’s incredible to watch him at the moment. No matter what the angle is or where he is on the pitch he’s able to score a goal. He’s a sensational little player.
He’ll be a nightmare for Phil Jagielka and Sylvain Distin on Saturday Night Football, too. Given their styles, they’d much prefer to be up against a striker with a bigger stature, who they could compete with physically. Instead, Aguero will get into little pockets of space and cause them problems.
He scored against Everton home and away last season so clearly enjoys coming up against Martinez's side and will be looking to extend his advantage over Costa in the top-scorer table.
Everton, meanwhile, seem to be struggling to find the finesse and quality they possessed last year at the moment. That spark and belief in what they’re doing isn’t there right now.
That’s partly down to tiredness, and Roberto Martinez referenced that this week. He’s made a point of playing his strongest side in the Europa League and that seems to be coming back to haunt him.
It will come back for Everton because Martinez does get results out of his players – but I don’t think he’ll do that on Saturday. I’m tipping a 3-1 win to Man City, who are starting to hit their stride.
Watch Man City v Everton on Saturday Night Football, from 4.45pm on Sky Sports 1 HD
