If there is anything holding Manchester City back this season from defending their Premier League title, it is injuries to key players of Pep Guardiola’s squad. This season alone, the club has had two key players in the centre-back position injured, a development that has had the club lagging behind.
The defense is not the only part of the team affected with injuries and now the team will have to deal with another one.
Manchester City faces its Premier League rival Liverpool over the weekend and with the current injury issues facing the City squad, it might be hard to secure a win against Liverpool and get closer to the Reds on the Premier League table with points.
City are likely to be without David Silva for next the weekend crunch clash with Liverpool.
The club manager Pep Guardiola has revealed the veteran Spanish playmaker suffered a muscular injury in the champions’ hard-fought Premier League win over Southampton on Saturday.
Silva did not return for the second half at the Etihad Stadium after sustaining the problem in the latter stages of the first period.
“David Silva was injured. Five minutes before the first half ended he told me he had a muscular problem.
“When he has a muscular problem and cannot play more minutes it is because he has something and when it is a muscular problem it is always a minimum of 10-12 days.”
What this means for Manchester City
The Manchester City squad has been disturbed with several injuries and often in places that really matter, like Aymeric Laporte and John Stones in the defence. Now adding to that is David Silva, one of the club’s moving force. If this won’t affect the squad’s playing style at all, we can only assume it would affect the dynamic of the team as there will be a shift in how the game goes moving forward.
With Manchester City trailing behind Liverpool in the title race for the Premier League, it is best if they have all the manpower they need for the tough fixtures ahead of them but with all these injuries, things might get a little bit tricky to deal with.
The rival teams are set to meet over the weekend, and one can only expect a great game, seeing as Liverpool have not been beaten in the league since their loss at the Etihad last January and their last home defeat came in April 2017. They have dropped just two points this term.
However, we might be seeing Pep Guardiola setting priority on cups and which one is most important to him at the moment as seen in his statement.
“We are going to try, but I don’t think so. How many centuries and they don’t lose at Anfield? We will see.
“Now we go to Italy and when we come back we go to Anfield. Many things are going to happen and there are a lot of games to play.”
“Do you think we can prioritize four titles in one season if we prioritize games?
“We’re going to play with the best team possible to win at Atalanta and after we go to Anfield. The best way to go to Anfield is to play a good game against Atalanta, who have been fighting with the top clubs in Italy for the last two or three seasons.”
Conclusion
It is definitely a tough time for Manchester City and we hope the injuries stop coming. Also, we understand that it is one of the hazards of the job and it is inevitable. Right now, the solution the manager has put in place will speak for his experience and his competence to manage his team.
Till then, we can only wait and see how things pan out.
