Wrote:
Menna Omar
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Sunday 27 September 2020
11:41 AM
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“Nobody cares about the players, they are not machines” … words made by Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola warning of the players suffering from muscle injuries that may harm the competing teams in the new season.
Last Friday, Guardiola confirmed that his team is facing a crisis before facing Leicester City (at 5:30 pm on Sunday) in the third round of the Premier League championship.
Pep said that his team only has 13 first-team players, which means that he will rely on 5 young players to complete the match list.
Guardiola said in a press statement: “We only have 13 players available from the first team. We will need elements from the academy not only for training, but they can also be relied upon in matches.”
Indeed, Guardiola relied on Liam Delap in the Citizens match against Bournemouth, which brought them together in the third round of the English Professional League Cup, and the young player contributed to the team’s heavenly victory with two goals.
current situation
City suffers from several absences, the most important of which is striker Gabriel Jesus, who was injured during his participation against Wolverhampton in the second round of the Premier League, and is expected to be absent for a period of up to six weeks. To self-isolate after being infected with the Coronavirus.
Nicolas Otamendi is also not available to participate in the match against Leicester, as is the case for Emric Laporte, who did not reach the required readiness to participate in the matches, as he returned to training last Friday after recovering from the Corona virus.
Guardiola’s criticism
Guardiola had previously talked about all clubs, not just City, and said in statements quoted by the “The Sun” newspaper: “It is not only about Manchester City, but all the clubs and all countries .. Nobody cares about the players.”
He added, “This is work and we are part of it, but we want to do it as best as possible.”
He continued: “I understand that this is an exceptional situation, for restaurants, cinemas, theaters, museums, shopping places and everything, everyone is struggling, so we are not exceptional in this, but we had three players who came back with injuries from international participation and we could not control this, they allowed them.” Playing without preparation (two games in three or four days). “
“In the end they are not machines, and sometimes the muscles collapse,” he continued.
He concluded: “Every association, the English Premier League, UEFA, FIFA, Carabao Cup, everyone defends their work, so you have to play in every competition.”
How City enter today’s match against Leicester?
There is no chance for the stressed parties to get a rest. City will enter its match today (Sunday) against Leicester City, followed by the fourth round match of the Carabao Cup against Burnley (Wednesday), then the match (Saturday) against Leeds United in the fourth round of Premier League .
Although the Manchester City team is still full of stars, that does not mean that 17-year-old Liam Dilab will not be able to make a comeback against Leicester City (just three days after his debut against Bournemouth), and he may have an effective role in Today’s match against Leicester City.
And with only 13 players ready for the Leicester match, Guardiola will not have an opportunity to make changes to the players’ formation or game plan, as playing with the elements available is the safest solution for the Catalan coach.
Manchester City is expected to start its match with the following formation:
Goalkeepers: Ederson.
Defensive line: Kyle Walker, John Stones, Nathan Aki, Benjamin Mendy.
Midfielders: Rodrigo Hernandez, Fernandinho, Kevin De Bruyne.
Offensive line: Ferran Torres, Riyad Mahrez, Raheem Sterling.
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