Manchester City certainly do have one major advantage over Arsenal and Liverpool, the two teams competing with them for the Premier League title, in squad fitness. Entering Wednesday’s home clash against Aston Villa, City have only two injury concerns, now that Jack Grealish has returned, in Ederson and Kyle Walker.
Both are battling thigh muscle injuries of varying severity.
Manchester City vs Aston Villa FYIs
Kick off: 8:15 pm, Wednesday April 3, 8:15, Etihad Stadium
Preview Content: Team News for Both Sides Man City Starting XI Prediction
Transatlantic Passage: How the Premier League Redefined Soccer in America: LINK
PL Position: Man City 3rd, 64 pts Aston Villa 4th, 59 pts
Form Guide: Man City DDWWW Aston Villa WDLWW
Google Result Probability: Man City 75% Aston Villa 10% Draw 15%
Team News for Both Sides
Ederson is in contention to play on Wednesday night, but he’s basically 50/50. Kyle Walker is still out for at least another week or two. Shifting over to the Villans, John McGinn will miss out due to a suspension.
Meanwhile Ollie Watkins (hamstring) and Jacob Ramsey (foot) could both be in contention, but will need to pass late fitness tests.
The news is obviously not as good (well, technically, it is just changed, so not really news) for Boubacar Kamara, Emiliano Buendia and Tyrone Mings. All three have suffered torn ACLs that have ruled them out for this season.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor 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 currently contributes to Ravens Wire, part of the USA Today SMG’s NFL Wire Network and the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Tribune and the Washington Times. You can follow him on Twitter.