Manchester City Must Turn to Edin Dzeko as Cover for Sergio Aguero Injury
With leading goalscorer Sergio Aguero facing up to seven weeks on the sidelines after sustaining a knee injury in Manchester City's recent 1-0 Premier League victory over Everton, returning striker Edin Dzeko must provide the club with goals to cover for this loss.
Jamie Jackson, writing for The Guardian, cites reports in Argentina regarding Aguero's injury.
However, Jackson claims "City are hopeful he will be out for no longer than a month in what still represents a sizable blow to the champions."
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Aguero will definitely sit out of City's crucial visit to Rome to take on Champions League opponents A.S. Roma on Wednesday night, and he will be sorely missed.
Fortunately, City's attacking injuries seemingly operate on a revolving-door policy, and Dzeko returned after a calf injury as a second-half substitute against Everton. Though he didn't score at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday, the striker can compensate for Aguero's loss.
City midfielder James Milner echoed this notion recently, telling reporters that "it is good timing that Edin is coming back. He is [a] fantastic goalscorer," per Andy Hampson of the Daily Mail.
Dzeko can provide ample cover for the absent Aguero as City look to regain their form in the Champions League and challenge Chelsea for the Premier League title.
Dzeko Form 2014/15
Unfortunately, Dzeko's season so far hasn't quite kick-started.
With Alvaro Negredo leaving for Valencia in the summer, the Bosnian's role at City was looking more integral, particularly as City manager Manuel Pellegrini has stuck rigidly to a two-striker system during his tenure—albeit with one operating in a deep-lying role.
But Dzeko has struggled with injury issues this season, with Jamie Jackson of The Guardian reporting a "very serious calf injury" in October that compounded this.
Nevertheless, Dzeko has still contributed two goals and one assist from 11 league appearances this season—this is a return made more attractive by the fact that the striker has only featured in 534 minutes of these 11 games.
Dzeko had a hand in a goal every 118 minutes during the last Premier League campaign. So far this season, his record stands at a goal or assist every 178.
This is perhaps a testament to his injury woes.
Importantly, all of Dzeko's goals and assists so far this season—though scant in their number—have come when the striker has been granted a starting berth.
Without Aguero, Pellegrini has space for Dzeko in his starting lineup. This should see an upturn in fortunes for City's No. 10, but the manager may need to adapt his style of play to accommodate Dzeko and the loss of Aguero.
Sergio Aguero
Aguero has outlined so far this season why he is now the prototypical goalscoring centre-forward. Much like Luis Suarez last season, Aguero is winning plaudits for his consistent, all-action style of play.
Having 14 goals from 15 Premier League appearances this season provides substance to this idea. And Aguero boasts a plethora of different strikes, from capping mazy runs to providing the finishing touch to exquisite team moves.
A match-winning hat-trick in City's last Champions League encounter, a 3-2 home victory over Bayern Munich, underlined the striker's importance to the side.
Aguero has arguably risen above David Silva, Vincent Kompany and Yaya Toure as the side's key man.
It is this decisive quality that has proven the catalyst to City's resurgence this season after a shaky start, and Pellegrini has tailored his system around the 26-year-old.
Without Aguero, the manager faces a tough task. With a season-defining festive schedule ahead of him, he must now negotiate a winning system without his most important figure.
City Without Aguero
Following his Dzeko praise, Milner continued by saying, "They are not easy shoes to fill, Sergio Aguero's, but with the ability the other players have, I'm sure they'll fill his shoes no problem."
However, City have looked increasingly over-reliant on Aguero so far this season.
This was hugely evident in the victory over Bayern, after which The Telegraph's Henry Winter opined that "this current system, with Aguero up top on his own, seems to be working."
Winter continued, saying, "Give him the ball, release him swiftly (as Frank Lampard and [Stevan] Jovetic did against Bayern) and he will wreak damage."
That considered, implementing Dzeko into this system would prove problematic. But play the ball to the striker's feet—or even with a more direct approach—and City could thrive. This could also see the likes of Jovetic and Samir Nasri flourish.
He should start against Roma on Wednesday night, a tie City need to win to have a hope of Champions League qualification.
Luckily, Dzeko has helped drag the side through on several occasions already.
It was his equalising goal against Queens Park Rangers that helped Aguero to immortality, with the No. 16's winner sealing City's 2011/12 Premier League title. Dzeko's prolific surge at the end of last season also helped his team secure another title.
Edin Dzeko has already proved he can deliver when it matters for Manchester City and, with Sergio Aguero facing four weeks on the sidelines, manager Manuel Pellegrini should turn to the striker to fill the void left by the in-form Argentine.
Statistics via WhoScored.com.
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