Josko Gvardiol is back! And just in time too. On Friday, Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola cleared his stellar Croatian defender (who recovered from a tibial fracture) to play, saying at his weekly press conference: “Josko is ready too, so it’s good.” However, Little Pep did not make the matchday squad, for City’s 3-0 home win over Brentford.
Gvardiol should not only make the squad, but also feature, at least in some capacity, on Wendesday night versus Crystal Palace.
Current Premier League Title Race Standing
Arsenal- 79 Points, 35 Matches Played, +42 Goal Differential Tie-Breaker, 68 Goals Scored Second Tiebreaker
Manchester City- 74 Points, 34 Matches Played, +40 Goal Differential Tie-Breaker, 72 Goals Scored Second Tiebreaker
Manchester City vs Crystal Palace FYIs
Kickoff: Wednesday, May 13, 8pm, Etihad Stadium, Manchester, UK
Google Result Probability: Manchester City win 80% Draw 13% Crystal Palace win 7%
Man City Team News
In addition to Gvardiol, Ruben Dias also returned to training (having recovered from a hamstring injury) this past week, but didn’t feature this past weekend. Dias made the squad, but went an unused substitute. Most likely he should feature here, in the midweek league fixture. Which then takes us to Rodri, whose return was potentially expected on Saturday, but it didn’t happen.
Does it happen here? I don’t know because it seems like the goalposts just keep on getting moved back with him.
And then finally, Abdukodir Khusanov missed out versus Brentford due to an unspecified injury.
Pep Guardiola told the media:
“He got a tough knock in a painful area, against Everton, he’s not ready.”
As it’s just a knock, or at least that’s what we’re being told it is, he could be fine for midweek. We’ll see. Obviously, this is a match that City badly need to take all three points from. Dropping any points here could basically seal the title for Arsenal.
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, Ratings 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 and the Washington Post.