Man City Team News: Injuries, suspensions and line-up vs Man Utd
Everything you need to know ahead of the Premier League clash at Old Trafford on Wednesday
Manchester City and Liverpool continue to battle it out for the Premier League title with Pep Guardiola’s side facing a crucial trip to city rivals Manchester United on Wednesday night with a need of all three points.
City were just about good enough to see off Tottenham at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday, with Phil Foden’s first-ever Premier League goal proving sufficient to see off the Spurs challenge and go some way towards exacting revenge for last week’s Champions League quarter-final elimination.
Guardiola oversaw two consecutive 2-1 victories at Old Trafford in his first two English managerial campaigns and will be greeted by a Manchester United side in dire need of three points themselves, as well as an improved performance.
United lost heavily to Everton on Sunday and know that only a win will boost their fading chances of a top-four finish and a return to the Champions League.
The loss of Kevin De Bruyne to a muscle injury on Saturday afternoon was crushing. The Belgian had returned to form but might not play again this season.
City have no other fresh injury concerns with Claudio Bravo the only long-term absentee.
Neither side has any player suspended for the match.
No margin for error at this stage of the season and – De Bruyne aside – Guardiola has more or less a full deck to pick from.
Oleksandr Zinchenko replaced Benjamin Mendy in the side on Saturday but the Frenchman should be able to return having been rested at the weekend.
There was no sign of Vincent Kompany on Saturday either with John Stones returning to the line-up but there were one or two errors in the England defender’s game which could give concern to Guardiola.
Fernandinho came into the side as a substitute with Ilkay Gundogan once again selected in the central midfield area but the Brazilian should come back in to help shield the back four.
And Leroy Sane was among the substitutes as well, with Raheem Sterling and Bernardo Silva in excellent form. It looks as though the German will again have to settle for a place on the bench.
Manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer could well ring the changes after seeing his side demolished at Goodison Park on Sunday.
It’s no secret that Solskjaer believes some United players are under-performing and so the likes of Alexis Sanchez and Jesse Lingard might earn a recall.
Luke Shaw is available after suspension while veteran Ashley Young could also be in line for a return.
Contract rebel Ander Herrera has been missing in recent weeks with a hamstring injury but Solskjaer confirmed before the Everton game that he had returned to training.
Eric Bailly remains out while fellow centre-back Phil Jones has also been struggling with a knock. Antonio Valencia won’t play.
Kick-off is at 8pm BST (3pm ET) on Wednesday and will be shown in the United Kingdom on Sky Sports Premier League and Sky Sports Main Event, as well as streaming on Sky Go and NOW TV.
It will be shown on NBCSN in the United States, and on various channels around the world.
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