Manchester City have a slew of injury concerns heading into the weekend fixture at Crystal Palace. John Stones (Plantar Fasciitis), Phil Foden (bronchitis), Manuel Akanji (undisclosed) and Nathan Ake (thigh) are all likely to be ruled out of this one.
While Stones and Foden should be back in action before too long, we don’t know much yet about Akanji.
Manchester City at Crystal Palace FYIs
Kick: Sat. Dec. 7, 3pm, Selhurst Park, London, UK
Man City Preview Content: Team News Starting XI Prediction
PL Position: Manchester City 4th, 26 pts Crystal Palace 17th, 12 pts
Form Guide: Manchester City LLLLW Crystal Palace DLDDW
Google Result Probability: Manchester City 61% Crystal Palace 17% Draw 22%
Man City Team News
Ake will be on the shelf for awhile, with City manager Pep Guardiola saying, just yesterday:
“The [injury] problems continued… Nathan doesn’t look good. We will see tomorrow. He could not continue… I am sad for Nathan.”
Meanwhile Mateo Kovacic (undisclosed), Oscar Bobb (leg) and Rodri (knee) all remain out as longer-term injury absentees.
All in all, it looks like Guardiola could be without the services of up to seven players in this one.
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 USA Today’s NFL Wires Network, the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America and RG. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter.