Injuries threaten City’s grip | Local sports

Pep Guardiola admitted this week that retaining the title this season will be a real challenge.

The number of injuries at the Etihad Stadium has increased, including Oscar Bobb, the star of the season, Jack Grealish still not 100% fit, the world’s best midfielder Rodri out for the rest of the season and Kevin De Bruyne in and out of the competition. team.

Ruben Dias, John Stones and Nathan Ake, Savinho, Manuel Akanji and Jeremy Doku are all playing but not fully fit. Guardiola said before leaving for Lisbon this week in the Champions League, where they lost 4-1 to Ruben Almorim’s Sporting, that Manu and Nathan still have problems, that Kevin is getting better and is having sessions with less pain so he can feel more comfortable feels.

Doku has had a small muscle problem, but is improving and Savinho is also improving with his ankle injury. John Stones missed training on Monday with a foot injury and is unlikely to play in Brighton this weekend. After having a poor game at Bournemouth, Guardiola explained that Kyle Walker is also not yet fully fit again.

The Premier League defeat to Bournemouth last weekend was a shock, but Guardiola said: ‘I know people expect us to win all 38 games 5-0 and win the treble every season because this is the standard we stated, but that is not going to happen. . To win the competition, everything has to go right: no injuries, good momentum and opponents dropping points at the right time.”

Mount and Malacia

training again

Mason Mount has returned to full training with Man United after his latest injury. Carrington’s medical team said he could be back in time for Ruben Amorim’s arrival after the international break next week. Mount has been out of the team since coming on at half-time against Tottenham in September but had to leave the field after a collision with Radu Dragusin. The 25-year-old has missed the last seven games. Interim coach Ruud Van Nistelrooy was happy that Tyrell Malacia was also involved in the training, as he had been out for the past year and a half after surgery on his knee.

Slot training

are combinations

Arne Slot is proving he has what it takes to continue Liverpool’s excellence in recent years under Jurgen Klopp. With no striker due to injuries to Diogo Jota and Federico Chiesa and careful not to overload Darwin Nunez, the Reds coach sat in his office with his assistant coaches Sipke Hulshoff and Johnny Heitinga to work out his options.

He decided he could go without a recognized number nine, with Liverpool working in midfield like a box practiced in pre-season when many first-team players were missing. In their match against Brighton they lacked punch up front, so Lock called Cody Gakpo onto the pitch and presto, the Dutchman came in from the right flank and scored a great goal.

Under Klopp, Gakpo had regularly operated as a number nine and was seen as a natural successor to Roberto Firmino. However, Slot prefers Cody to play on the left wing and has competed with Diaz for the position.

Hot and cold

Ange Postecoglou offered some explanation after eight turbulent days that culminated in an impressive win over Aston Villa, one of their main rivals for a top-four finish this season.

After boos from certain sections of the crowd following their 1-0 defeat to Crystal Palace, Spurs then went out and defeated Manchester City in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup. Make no mistake: Pep Guardiola wanted to win that trophy, so it was no fluke that saw the North London side triumph.

Postecoglou calmed down this week when he said: ‘You don’t fall off cliffs and climb mountains in a week. You will encounter setbacks along the way and that’s how you learn from them. You have to keep your eyes firmly on where you are going.”

Not a bad philosophy of life, I guess.

Edu’s exit leaves

Arteta as king

Make no mistake: Edu’s departure from Arsenal is a big deal for Mikel Arteta. Edu was instrumental in the coach joining the Gunners and from head coach Arteta became manager and eventually Edu’s boss.

It is now entirely possible that Arteta, along with managing director Richard Garlick and executive vice-chairman Tim Lewis, will form a trio that controls everything that is Arsenal.

Generally a sporting director acts above the head coach, but in Arteta’s case he has the respect to take charge and this caused some problems for Edu. A slow start to the season, with Arsenal winning just five of their first ten games and a less-than-impressive start for Mikel Marino and Raheem Sterling, caused tensions between Edu and Arteta, but the club claim Edu is leaving on good terms.

Fabio Viera, Nicolas Pepe and David Luiz were among the Edu recruits who did not fare well, but he was also the one who pushed for the signings of Martin Odegaard, Declan Rice and tied Bukayo Saka and William Saliba to longer contracts.

In many ways, Arteta now has more in common with United’s Sir Alex Ferguson and no one at Old Trafford has ever told him what to do. But Edu will be missed.

Arteta can blow hot and cold and has mood swings and Edu was the ever-present charismatic person who was always visible on the training pitch and lifted the players’ mood in difficult times. When players had problems or concerns, it was Edu, not Arteta, who they confided in.

Playing dice with relegation

Wolves, Palace and Ipswich are already struggling with relegation this season and out of form West Ham seems to be relying on just two players.

Palace are in real trouble and they have lost important quality when Michael Olise and Joachim Andersen both left in the summer. Palace fortunately have the excellent Marc Guehi, but even he cannot reproduce the form he showed for England at the European Championship.

Eddie Nketiah has been a total disappointment all season, with no assists or goals. I looked at the Palace bench last weekend and it is definitely not a standard Premier League outfit. Coach Oliver Glasner is in trouble and he could eventually leave.

Ipswich seems unable to hold on to a lead. Because 1-0 looked like a final score against Leicester, they conceded again in extra time and finished 1-1.

The problem is that Ipswich look good for a win for 60 minutes but then, as so often happens with promoted teams, the players get tired, mistakes happen and they end up losing. Key figures are Rory Delap, who can score at this level, Omari Hutchinson and Sam Morsey, who controls the midfield, but it is the defense that needs to be strengthened in the January period and I hear the owners will make money available for two defenders .

Wolves already look doomed and despite playing attractive, intense attacking football, coach Gary O’Neil still doesn’t know what his strongest team is.

Wolves have scored as many goals as high-flying Nottingham Forest, but they are shipping targets at the back. O’Neil is pinning his hopes on Mario Lemina’s return to his strongest form, but in midfield he must protect his back four. The coach is on the razor’s edge with his Wolves career and this weekend could be his last if it all goes wrong against Everton.

Salah’s online message

I understand that Liverpool fans are getting nervous about Mo Salah possibly leaving the club. His online message: “Whatever happens, I will never forget what scoring at Anfield feels like” led many people to believe that this was Mo’s way of preparing for his departure from Anfield.

However, when coach Arne Slot was questioned, he replied: “Mo is in a very good place at the moment. He’s in a good place as long as he’s at Liverpool, and this season too, and I hope he’ll post again after Saturday.

“What he says is not important to me, what is important to me is how he plays and what he tells me when we have conversations. That’s what matters. I should have talked to him and asked him if that online message was a reference to his departure, but I didn’t.”

The problem is, and it is partly Liverpool’s fault, that both Mo and Virgil van Djik have contracts expiring at the end of the season and the club have not made any determined effort to retain their star players. The sooner negotiations begin, the sooner these rumors will disappear. One thing I can tell you is that Mo loves Liverpool and it would take a superhuman effort from another club if he were to leave.

Casemiro still is

hero of the players

Despite much criticism surrounding Casemiro at Man United, he still has the support of the players who look up to the Real Madrid legend. Diogo Dalot believes that the Brazilian still has a lot to offer the club and that the new incoming coach should consider himself lucky to have such an experienced and talented player.

Casemiro, 32, may have lost some of his energy and stamina, but Dalot said: “He is an incredible player and we know that when he is at his best level, when he is in good form, he can help us a lot. He can show fantastic levels.”

This season, Casemiro has won more battles and tackles than he has lost and has scored three goals, including a huge effort that qualifies for goal of the season. He has scored 15 goals since joining from Madrid in August 2022.