OPINION
West Ham United right back Pablo Zabaleta will be returning to his former club Manchester City on Wednesday night, but manager Manuel Pellegrini must ensure he does so from the substitutes bench.
The Argentine had an absolute horror show of a performance against Fulham on Friday night, and it’s his replacement in that game, Ryan Fredericks, who needs to start against the champions.
Zabaleta has had a strong season on the whole, but lately he’s looked a little weathered. He’s obviously in the final stages of his career now and he’s going to be getting worse not better, but you can’t have a defensive liability, like he appeared on Friday, lining up against a team as good as City.
Fredericks, on a reported £40,000-per-week at the club [Source: Spotrac], is much the better choice. He can get caught out at times, but his superior pace, athleticism and offensive capabilities mean he’s a must-start at the Etihad Stadium.
Sending Zabaleta out to try and defend against Leroy Sane or Raheem Sterling is tactical suicide. He simply doesn’t have the physical attributes to be able to cope with those sorts of players anymore.
Fredericks, on the other hand, does. At 26 years of age he is eight years Zabaleta’s junior, and brings with him more pace than the Argentine ever had.
It’s not all about speed, of course, but there’s just no way that Zabaleta would be able to stop someone like Sterling when he’s flying down the wing.
It’s going to take a lot for Pellegrini’s men to come out on top on Wednesday, but sending Fredericks out ahead of Zabaleta would be a big step in the right direction.
