For the biggest match of the weekend, the most brand name player out there is an injury doubt. Manchester City striker Erling Haaland must pass a late fitness test, due to a knee problem, if he is to feature at home against Liverpool FC.
Man City manager Pep Guardiola gave an update on Haaland on Wednesday night.
Liverpool FC at Manchester City FYIs
Kick: Sun. Feb. 23, 5:30pm, Etihad Stadium, Manchester, UK
Team News: Liverpool FC Manchester City
Starting XI Predictions for Both Sides: go here
Google Result Probability: Liverpool 42% Man City 33% Draw 25%
Premier League Standing, Form: Liverpool 1st, 61 pts, WWDWD Manchester City 4th, 44 pts, DWWLW
Man City Team News
“Erling trained yesterday (Tuesday),” Pep said.
“I believe the images we have done are fine, but he has discomfort walking and, for example, on stairs. We spoke yesterday and this morning, and he said he didn’t feel good, didn’t feel ready.”
The good news is that the situation is not serious, and it sounds like he could be in contention to play this weekend.
Elsewhere Manuel Akanji has now been ruled out until late April, after having scheduled surgery to repair his thigh injury. As for Oscar Bobb, his original timeline for return had been December, but obviously, given that it’s almost March, he has endured some setbacks.
His timeline for return is unknown now. Finally, John Stones is injured again, and not much is known about his status, or the severity of his problem.
At this point, he is basically starting to be for City what Luke Shaw is to the other Manchester club- an English defender who just cannot be counted on to stay healthy.
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.