Brendan Rodgers could avoid a selection headache and stifle Crystal Palace’s talisman Wilfried Zaha in one fell swoop this weekend. It’s a difficult decision for Rodgers if he is only going to pick two. But there is the option of fielding Castagne in front of Ricardo on the right wing, with the Belgian then able to use his defensive nous to help stop Zaha. Rodgers has backed Tete to come good, but the Brazilian has struggled to make his mark on matches since his debut at Aston Villa. And the manager indicated earlier this season that Castagne’s off-the-ball work could see him played as a winger, something that was tried in the final pre-season game last summer, before Ricardo ruptured his Achilles.
Asked about Zaha’s record against City,
Brendan Rodgers said: “He’s a very gifted player. He’s one you have to manage in the one-vs-ones. It’s important he’s never left in a one-vs-one duel, because he’s highly-gifted in that position, so you’ve got to make sure you have good cover on the field. He’s very good in counter-attacking situations as well so we’ve always got to make sure the spaces are blocked to stop him from counter-attacking. But they have other talented players.”
Despite Zaha’s fine goalscoring record against them, City are unbeaten in their seven games against the Eagles under Rodgers. Most of those were against Roy Hodgson, who is now back at the helm for Palace’s battle against relegation, Patrick Vieira sacked after failing to win a Premier League match in 2023.
Brendan Rodgers said: “It’s an incredible tribute to his qualities as a manager that a club like Crystal Palace have called him in this moment. I felt for Patrick, leaving his role. But Roy has over 1200 games, lots of experience, and he’s still going strong. I’m not sure I’ll still be going strong at that age. He’s been a real inspiration for a lot of British coaches for his longevity and the resilience and persistence needed to be a top manager. I’ve come across Roy’s teams on many occasions and they’re always super-organised. They will all know their job and what they have to do. It’s a difficult game for us, whether it was Roy or Patrick. It will be up to us to try to break them down.”
