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Juventusvs.Man City

sportsmole.co.uk, 8 December 2024, 07:56
Reeling from another devastating Premier League result, Manchester City make a stopover in Turin to square up to Serie A giants Juventus in Wednesday's Champions League battle.

Pep Guardiola's side are once again at risk of falling 11 points behind leaders Liverpool in the Premier League table after being held to a 2-2 draw by Crystal Palace, where they controversially ended the game with 10 men.

Speaking of high-scoring stalemates, the 2022-23 UCL winners astonishingly blew a three-goal lead against Feyenoord in their last European affair, leaving them 17th in the overall table.

Here, Sports Mole rounds up Man City's latest injury and suspension news ahead of the contest with Juventus, who are 19th in the 36-team rankings having also taken eight points from five games.

Rodri

Status: Out

Type of injury: Knee

Possible return date: Unknown

Ballon d'Or winner Rodri is still on the long road to recovery from the ACL injury he sustained in September, and the Spaniard should not be seen on the field again before the new season.

Oscar Bobb

Status: Out

Type of injury: Leg fracture

Possible return date: January 4 (vs. West Ham United)

Another long-term absentee, Oscar Bobb has not played a single competitive match this season due to a leg fracture, but Guardiola is cautiously optimistic that he will be back in the ranks in January or February.

Mateo Kovacic

Status: Out

Type of injury: Unspecified

Possible return date: December 21 (vs. Aston Villa)

Mateo Kovacic's return from an unspecified injury should not be too far away either, but the Croatian midfielder has no chance of being back for the clash with Juventus.

John Stones

Status: Out

Type of injury: Foot

Possible return date: Unknown

The luckless John Stones is currently nursing a foot injury, and there have been few updates on when City fans can expect the centre-back to return, but it should not be on Wednesday.

Nathan Ake

Status: Out

Type of injury: Hamstring

Possible return date: Unknown

Another unfortunate defender, Nathan Ake sat out the draw with Palace owing to a hamstring problem, and as Guardiola recently conceded that it 'did not look good', the Dutchman ought to miss the meeting with the Old Lady too.

Manuel Akanji

Status: Major doubt

Type of injury: Unspecified

Possible return date: December 11 (vs. Juventus)

Manuel Akanji was the victim of an unspecified issue in the 3-0 win over Nottingham Forest in midweek, and having not made the squad for the trip to Selhurst Park, the Switzerland international is a huge doubt for this fixture too.

Phil Foden

Status: Major doubt

Type of issue: Bronchitis

Possible return date: December 11 (vs. Juventus)

Phil Foden watched on helplessly at the weekend as he battled bronchitis, although the Englishman should be on the mend soon and will hope to force his way back into the ranks for Wednesday's match.

MANCHESTER CITY'S SUSPENSION LIST

Man City have no players suspended for this game; Rico Lewis was controversially sent off at the weekend, but his ban will instead apply to City's next Premier League game, which comes against none other than Manchester United.

Written by

Ben Knapton

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