When Manchester City hosts Burnley FC on Wednesday night, it will likely mark the return of the talismanic Erling Haaland. The big man has been out since Dec. 6, when City lost to Aston Villa 1-0, due to a foot injury.
And that foot injury has turned out to be much worse than initially thought, as the recovery has certainly contained some setbacks along the way.
Manchester City vs Burnley FC FYIs
Kickoff: Wed. Jan 31, 7:30 pm, The Etihad
Manchester City Preview Material: Team News Starting XI Prediction
Transatlantic Passage: How the Premier League Redefined Soccer in America: LINK
Google Result Probability: Man City 88% Draw 8% Burnley FC 4%
Premier League Form, Standing: Burnley DLLWL 19th, 12 pts Man City 2nd, 43 pts, WWWDW
Series History: Burnley wins: 30 Draws: 25 Man City wins: 56
Odds: Burnley: +1700, Draw: +1100, Man City: -900
Man City Team News
“When he came back after two or three sessions and felt some disturbance, that’s why we were a little cautious after we waited a long time and in December he couldn’t play for a long time,” City manager Pep Guardiola said of the Haaland situation.
“We tried to avoid it but now he feels good, we’ll give him three or four days and hopefully he can play against Burnley and he can play his first minutes, we’ll see.”
Elsewhere beyond Haaland, John Stones is expected to be fit for this one while Manuel Akanji, who has been out with an unspecified injury, has about 50/50 chance, most likely, of playing here.
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He’s written for numerous publications, including the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. He regularly appears on NTD News and WGN News Now, while writing for the International Baseball Writers Association of America. You can follow the website on Twitter.