Manchester City and England superstar Phil Foden has a really bad case of bronchitis. “He is not ready,” City manager Pep Guardiola said of Foden this past weekend, in reference to the 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace.
We’ll see if Foden can give it a go at Juventus in midweek, but who knows.
UEFA Champions League Matchday 6 of 8
Manchester City at Juventus
Kickoff: Wed. Dec. 11, 8pm, Allianz Stadium, Turin, Italy
UCL Standing, Form: Manchester City 17th, 8 pts, +6 GD, DWWLD Juventus 19th, 8 pts, +2 GD, WWLDD
Sky Blues Team News
Moving on to Manuel Akanji, his situation is pretty mysterious. Maybe he’s healed from whatever the undisclosed/unspecified injury is that he suffered against Nottingham Forest.
“Manu, we will see,” Guardiola said ahead of the Palace draw, which Akanji ended up being ruled out of. Let’s go with a doubt as the status for him. Same goes for John Stones, who is still battling plantar fasciitis.
And we really don’t know what’s going on with Nathan Ake.
Said Pep: “The [injury] problems continued… Nathan doesn’t look good. We will see tomorrow. He could not continue… I am sad for Nathan.”
In this matchup of two giant clubs, who currently find themselves way farther down than expected in the UCL table, Rico Lewis seems like a lock to get a starting assignment.
Given that he’s suspended for the next two Premier League games, Pep will need to use him here to maintain freshness, and do squad rotation.
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.