EPL hits & misses: Man City suffer without Rodri, Amrabat experiment fails
Since Rodri's Premier League debut in August 2019, Manchester City have lost 33 per cent of the top-flight matches they have played without the Spaniard, compared to just 7.5 per cent with him in their side.
The loss at Wolves - as well as the defeat at Newcastle in the Carabao Cup - add to the suspicion that City are just not the same without the dominating presence of Rodri.
Matheus Nunes and Mateo Kovacic are fine players but City lacked urgency and imagination in possession, with Pep Guardiola responding by removing the former at half-time.
City were also flimsy when they lost the ball, with Pedro Neto in particular causing concern when he raided down their left side.
Rodri may not have been able to single-handedly change the outcome of events at Molineux, but the numbers show City are clearly a more vulnerable side without him.
After looking unbeatable during the first weeks of the season, City are suddenly on the ropes - and Mikel Arteta will be desperate to ensure Arsenal are the latest side to expose the hole left by Rodri at the Emirates next Sunday.
Joe Shread
Fixing problems is a key trait of being a football manager in the Premier League. Injuries to Luke Shaw, Aaron Wan Bissaka and Sergio Reguilon has given such a problem to Erik ten Hag, who tried to remedy the issue by selecting new signing Sofyan Amrabat in a hybrid role down the left - like he did during United's comfortable first half performance in the 3-0 win over Crystal Palace in midweek. The difference was the Crystal Palace in opposition was a different team to the one that rocked up in midweek.
They played with bravery, physicality, and a huge amount of spark back in Premier League action. This gave Amrabat more defensive duties to undertake and he was
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