You can start counting down the hours to the next round of Premier League fixtures, and Saturday brings an interesting one in Everton FC at Manchester City. The most obvious, direct common thread here is Jack Grealish, the Man City winger on loan this season to Everton. While he was not a part of Pep Guardiola’s plan at City, he’s thriving with the Toffees.
Grealish won’t be able to feature on the weekend though, due to league rules prohibiting a loanee from facing his parent club.
Manchester City vs Everton FC FYIs
Kickoff: Sat. Oct. 18, 3pm, Etihad Stadium
Manchester City Preview Material: Team News Starting XI Prediction
Full Injury Updates: Manchester City Everton FC
Google Result Probability: Man City 69% Draw 19% Everton FC 12%
Premier League Form, Standing: Everton FC 8th, 11 pts, WDLDW Man City 5th, 13 pts, LWDWW
Team News for Both Sides
That’s too bad, because the Grealish angle would just add extra intrigue to this one. Elsewhere, Rodri is injured again, so he’s out until next week, maybe the week after that.
“It is muscular (hamstring), so two weeks or three weeks,” Guardiola said on the weekend before the international break started.
“Of course, I don’t want to lose him even a little bit, but it is a pity because he is such an important player. We tried to take care of him, but it is what it is.”
There is some better news here though as City could welcome three back into the mix for this one.
Omar Marmoush (knee), Rayan Ait-Nouri (foot) and Abdukodir Khusanov (ankle) are all thought to be match fit again, and could be selected here.
Shifting gears to the visitors, they’ll welcome Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall back from suspension here while Jarrad Branthwaite (thigh) and Merlin Rohl (pelvic area/groin) should both be ready to feature again here.
And then finally, Michael Keane (ribs) is out indefinitely.
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. 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