Manchester City have just three fitness concerns heading into the weekend Premier League fixture at Crystal Palace: Kyle Walker, Ederson and Nathan Ake. We’ll start with Walker who has missed City’s last two games, the tediously boring draw with Arsenal and the rout over Aston Villa. The right back suffered a hamstring injury while with England during the March international break.
He’s ruled out of this one, but could be available for the big UEFA Champions League clash with Real Madrid on Tuesday night; according to various reports
Manchester City at Crystal Palace FYIs
Kick: Sat. Apr. 6, 12:30pm, Selhurst Park, London, UK
Man City Preview Content: Team News Starting XI Prediction
Transatlantic Passage: How the Premier League Redefined Soccer in America: LINK
PL Position: Manchester City 3rd, 66 pts Crystal Palace 14th, 30 pts
Form Guide: Manchester City WDDWW Crystal Palace LDDLW
Google Result Probability: Manchester City 72% Crystal Palace 11% Draw 17%
Man City Team News
We’ll see if Walker wins the race against time to be fit for that one. Meanwhile Ederson remains out, since having suffered his thigh injury against Liverpool, in that critical score draw. The Brazilian goalkeeper won’t likely return until later this month.
Finally, manager Pep Guardiola said the following about defender Nathan Ake, who suffered a calf injury last night: “I don’t know exactly the timing. For sure, the next games he won’t be ready.”
Sounds like he is ruled out until mid-to-late April.
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 Ravens Wire, part of the USA Today SMG’s NFL Wire Network and the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Tribune and the Washington Times. You can follow him on Twitter.