Happy All Saints Day football fans. November 1 will see Manchester City host Fulham in the fourth round of the EFL Cup. City are coming off a 1-0 win at Tottenham Hotspur when both sides were forced to play on a pitch in substandard conditions following the NFL clash between the Jacksonville Jaguars and Philadelphia Eagles.
It was still pretty cool to see the NFL gridiron markings still on the pitch though. Looking ahead to Thursday, let’s see what the fitness/injury situation looks like for the cup clash.
City boss Pep Guardiola will be without long-term absentees Claudio Bravo and Eliaquim Mangala. Midfielder Ilkay Gundogan is also out, while Danilo is a doubt for this match. For Fulham, their injury situation is pretty good right about now, with Joe Bryan the only remaining absentee due to his hamstring issue.
Also, Kevin McDonald is suspended for this one.
The Bank’s Manchester City Starting XI Prediction
Forwards: Leroy Sane, Gabriel Jesus, Raheem Sterling
Midfielders: Kevin De Bryune Fernandinho Phil Foden
Defenders: Fabian Delph Nicolas Otamendi Vincent Kompany Kyle Walker
Goalkeeper: Ederson
City have won 31 of their 64 meetings with the London club, while Fulham have emerged victorious 16 times in this series.
League Cup: Fulham FC at Manchester City FYIs
Kickoff: Thursday, November 1, 7:45 PM local, Etihad Stadium
Odds via Odds Checker: Fulham 18/1, Draw 10/1, Manchester City 1/11
Prediction: Manchester City 3, Fulham 1
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, regularly appears as a guest pundit on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
He also contributes sociopolitical essays to Lineups.com and Chicago Now. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram. The content of his cat’s Instagram account is unquestionably superior to his.
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