Maresca backs Guehi to bounce back despite four errors in two weeks

Enzo Maresca has declared his full confidence in Marc Guehi and does not believe the Manchester City defender needs a rest, despite the England international being at fault for four goals across matches against PSG, Ipswich and Aston Villa in the past fortnight.

Guehi was withdrawn at half-time during Saturday’s defeat at Villa Park, but Maresca stopped short of dropping him from Wednesday’s Carabao Cup tie against Brighton. The City manager did not include Guehi in a group of five players excused from the cup fixture — a list that does feature Ruben Dias and Josko Gvardiol, leaving the defence short of cover and making Guehi’s involvement likely.

“Especially in this moment, I am completely happy with Marc, because in the way he reacts it is fantastic, he is a top guy,” Maresca said. “He is one of the captains, he is a leader and I love Marc, to be honest.”

Maresca also pointed to the volume of football Guehi has played as context for the dip in form. The 24-year-old had an exceptionally long campaign last season with Crystal Palace before joining City, and then featured for England all the way through to the World Cup third-place play-off, leaving him with almost no pre-season before being thrown straight into City’s schedule.

“Marc is aware now but he has played all the minutes since the start of the season with us and the international team,” Maresca added. “In the last two weeks he didn’t play the Champions League, 45 minutes the other day — so he is completely OK.”

Despite the recent errors, Guehi had impressed earlier in the campaign, with Maresca even deploying him in a defensive midfield role at one stage — a sign of the trust the Italian coach places in him. Maresca appears determined to manage the situation through encouragement rather than by pulling Guehi from the firing line.