Manchester City have a couple new fitness concerns after their score draw with Brighton & Hove Albion yesterday. Both forward Phil Foden and defender John Stones had to be subbed off early. “Phil had a knock in the first half, problems in the leg, the doctor told me it was dangerous and we didn’t take a risk,” City manager Pep Guardiola said.
“Phil was exceptional in the first half before that.”
Manchester City at Brentford FYIs
Championship Sunday, Brentford Community Stadium, London, UK
Form Guide: Manchester City DWWWW Brentford WWLWW
Transatlantic Passage: How the Premier League Redefined Soccer in America: LINK
Manchester Starting XI Prediction: go here
Google Result Probability: Man City 52% Brentford 24% Draw 24%
On Stones, Pep said the following: “John felt tight, he didn’t have anything, we didn’t want to take a risk, so hopefully he can recover as soon as possible.”
It’s a bummer for both of them, and the rest of City that they got hurt during a match that was dead rubber, and considering that the next fixture is meaningless as well, they won’t be risked for it.
Rest of the Team News for Both Sides
Nathan Ake has missed the last five games, including yesterday, with a hamstring injury. It is certain that he won’t feature in this final league contest. Flipping over to the Bees, Ivan Toney remains suspended for breaches of the league’s betting rules (we covered that already here).
And finally, the following trio of Bees are all out injured: Christian Norgaard (achilles), Pontus Jansson (hamstring), Keane Lewis-Potter (knee).
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. Follow the website on Twitter and Instagram.