New Huddersfield Town manager Mark Hudson certainly has an extremely tough assignment in his very first game as boss of the Terriers. Hudson replaces the sacked David Wagner, a German manager who had once been considered very promising; even called “baby Jurgen Klopp” by some.
Now he’s looking for a new gig and his replacement is set to tangle with the defending Premier League champions, Manchester City on Sunday. Let’s take a look at the health and fitness situation for both sides.
City and France left-back Benjamin Mendy has been on the shelf since mid-November due to a knee injury but has since returned to training. While he’s made a lot of progress, he’s still a few weeks away from featuring.
“Mendy is not ready for this weekend, but he is closer,” City manager Pep Guardiola said at his Friday news conference, which took place on his birthday. “He has had a third or fourth training session with the team and it’s going well, but now it’s time to get him back in the best condition.”
Pep also added: “Mendy trains incredibly well – sometimes injury happens.”
Elsewhere Man City captain Vincent Kompany is a doubt due to a muscle problem but Guardiola says the team has no fresh injury concerns.
Flipping over to the hosts, Captain Tommy Smith could return from a hamstring problem after his having been an unused substitute in the draw against Cardiff City last weekend.
Abdelhamid Sabiri and Aaron Mooy are also set to miss out again for the league’s cellar dwellers.
Manchester City at Huddersfield Town FYIs
Kickoff: Sunday, January 20, 1:30 PM local, John Smith Stadium
Google Result Probability: Manchester City win 84%, Draw 11% Huddersfield win 5%
Manchester City Starting XI Prediction: go to this link
Odds via Sport Pesa: Manchester City win 4/27, Draw 29/4, Huddersfield win 19/1
Prediction: City 4, Huddersfield 0
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, regularly appears as a guest pundit on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
He also contributes sociopolitical essays to Chicago Now. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram. The content of his cat’s Instagram account is unquestionably superior to his.