Pep Guardiola has confirmed that Ederson will not feature against title rivals Arsenal after the Manchester City goalkeeper suffered a leg injury against Liverpool.
The Brazilian was taken off in the second half at Anfield on Sunday 10 March after he collided with Darwin Nunez to concede a penalty.
Stefan Ortega came on to replace Ederson at Anfield for his sixth Premier League appearance. Three of those have been this season, two as a substitute, including the 3-2 victory against Newcastle United when he came on in the eighth minute.
So, how will Ederson's absence affect Man City?
If you look at Man City's playing record with and without Ederson, it does not dip when the Brazilian is out.
In fact since the 2017/18 season, Ederson's first at City, the club's win percentage is actually BETTER across the 12 matches when he has been absent. City have recorded 10 wins, a 1-1 draw to Brighton and a 3-1 loss to Liverpool.
Man City stats since 2017/18
| With Ederson | Since 2017/18 (PL) | Without Ederson |
|---|---|---|
| 244 | Games | 12 |
| 183 | Wins | 10 |
| 30 | Draws | 1 |
| 31 | Loses | 1 |
| 617 | Goals for | 25 |
| 2.5 | Ave. goals for | 2.1 |
| 193 | Goals Against | 11 |
| 0.8 | Ave. goals against | 0.9 |
| 75% | Win percentage | 83.3% |
| 2.4 | Points per game | 2.6 |
Looking at Man City's results when Ortega has started between the sticks, their record is three wins and one draw.
Man City's results when Ederson doesn't start
| Date | Result | GKP |
|---|---|---|
| 9/5/18 | Man City 3-1 Brighton | Bravo |
| 13/5/18 | Southampton 0-1 Man City | Bravo |
| 10/11/19 | Liverpool 3-1 Man City | Bravo |
| 29/12/19 | Man City 2-0 Sheff Utd | Bravo |
| 1/1/20 | Man City 2-1 Everton | Bravo |
| 3/1/21 | Chelsea 1-3 Man City | Steffen |
| 14/5/21 | Newcastle 3-4 Man City | Steffen |
| 16/10/21 | Man City 2-0 Burnley | Steffen |
| 03/05/23 | Man City 3-0 West Ham | Ortega |
| 21/05/23 | Man City 1-0 Chelsea | Ortega |
| 24/5/23 | Brighton 1-1 Man City | Ortega |
| 21/10/23 | Man City 2-1 Brighton | Ortega |
When we look at how the champions play with Ederson and Ortega respectively, there are a lot of similarities but a few differences.
Ortega has had to make twice as many saves on average than Ederson across his six matches and, perhaps as a result, his save percentage of 85.2 per cent is significantly higher than his team-mate's 68.0 per cent.
| Player | Ederson | Ortega |
|---|---|---|
| Matches | 244 | 6 |
| Mins played | 21,721 | 476 |
| Saves/90 | 1.7 | 4.4 |
| Save % | 68.0% | 85.2% |
| Goals conceded | 0.78 | 0.76 |
| Passes/90 | 27.7 | 48.4 |
| Passing accuracy | 84.8% | 78.5% |
| Touches/90 | 35.7 | 58.6 |
| Long passes/90 | 8.3 | 16.1 |
| Passes into final third/90 | 2.2 | 2.6 |
| Catches/90 | 0.5 | 0.6 |
When Ortega has played he has enjoyed more touches of the ball than Ederson, with an average of 58.6 touches per 90 minutes, more than 50 per cent greater than Ederson's 35.7.
As a result, Ortega makes a lot more passes (48.4 per 90 compared with Ederson's 27.7), while he makes almost double the number of long passes (16.1 to 8.3).
This means that his overall passing accuracy inevitably is worse in comparison with his Brazilian team-mate, whose long-range passing is among the best in the league.
