Erling Haaland is a doubt for two reasons on Wednesday night when Manchester City visits Huddersfield Town. The big Norwegian striker would most likely not even feature in a cup competition against a lower division side, even if healthy. Now, on top of that, Haaland has a back injury of some sort, and is unlikely to be risked against the Terriers. Back pain forced Haaland off early yesterday, in the score draw with Arsenal.
Nico O’Reilly (undisclosed issue) and Abdukodir Khusanov (ankle problem) are also doubts for this one.
League Cup Third Round FYIs
Manchester City at Huddersfield Town
Kickoff: Wed. Sept 24th, 7:45pm, John Smith’s Stadium, Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, UK
Manchester City Preview Material: Team News Starting Lineup Prediction
Man City Team News at Huddersfield Town
And then of course, you still have the quintet of City’s long-term injury absentees, all of which will remain sidelined.
They are: Rayan Cherki (thigh), Omar Marmoush (knee injury, which gives Pep Guardiola a selection crisis at the striker position for Wednesday night), Rayan Ait-Nouri (a mysterious undisclosed problem), and then finally, you have the two players working on rehabbing their Achilles: Mateo Kovacic and Kalvin Phillips.
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