Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola admitted that he was quite angry at his midfielder, Rodri, for the egregious red card he drew yesterday in the win over Nottingham Forest. Rodri wrapped his hands around the neck of Forest forward Morgan Gibbs-White, in a move that was about as red as a red card can be. It happened in the opening minutes of the second half, meaning Man City then had to play 40+ minutes down a man.
No wonder Pep was so angry. Rodri has been hit with a three match ban, and he’ll begin serving it when City visits Newcastle United on Wednesday night, for a 3rd round EFL Cup clash.
EFL Cup 3rd Round FYIs
Newcastle United vs Manchester City
Kickoff: Wed. Sept. 27 8pm, St. James Park
City Preview Content: Starting XI Prediction Team News
Transatlantic Passage: How the Premier League Redefined Soccer in America: LINK
Not that he would feature in this match anyway. The same could be said for the following list of injured players: John Stones, Mateo Kovacic, Bernardo Silva, Jack Grealish and Kevin de Bruyne. They wouldn’t feature in the League Cup even if they were healthy.
“When you have all the squad you go to Newcastle with a good team, but now we just have to rest, recover well, train and try to arrive on the day of the game in the best condition possible,” said Guardiola about his squad being in a state of depleted fitness.
Pep has said he doesn’t really know the timeline of return for Stones, Kovacic and Grealish, but he did say that Bernardo would be back pretty soon. De Bruyne will be out for a couple months yet.
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager 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.”
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