Lescott has played just eight of City’s 24 Premier League matches this season and was again left out in last night’s 1-0 defeat to Chelsea.
But research by media group Trinity Mirror indicates City’s win percentage is far higher with Lescott in the team than on the sidelines.
The article, tweeted by Trinity Mirror’s head of data journalism David Ottewell, was retweeted by Richards, who himself has found game time hard to come by under Pellegrini.
According to the article, statistics show Lescott is City’s surprise key man, increasing his side’s chances of winning to an even greater extent than even Sergio Aguero or captain Vincent Kompany.
City fans have regularly called on Pellegrini to pair Kompany and Lescott together at the heart of the defence, but it looks as though the 31-year-old’s chances will continue to come in just the FA Cup.