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Manchester City : Guardiola will have to deal with the injury crisis at the Etihad Stadium

By Zoheb Alam

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 18: Pep Guardiola, Manager of Manchester City reacts during the Premier League match between Manchester City and Southampton at Etihad Stadium on September 18, 2021 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 18: Pep Guardiola, Manager of Manchester City reacts during the Premier League match between Manchester City and Southampton at Etihad Stadium on September 18, 2021 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images) /
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Manchester City had a disappointing weekend as they were held to a goalless draw at the Etihad Stadium.The defending champions are now sitting fifth in the table but are still being considered as “favourites” to lift the trophy next year in May.

But for now, City have found itself in troubled waters as they have had a lot of injury issues in their squad in the past couple of weeks. In their recent game against the Saints, the club missed out on the services of four star players as the likes of Aymeric Laporte, John Stones, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Rodri were all ruled out with injury before the game.

Ilkay Gundogan, too, seemed to have joined the injury list as on Saturday he was spotted holding his hamstring and had looked in discomfort.The German is currently ruled out against Wycombe on Tuesday and is also doubtful for the upcoming games against Chelsea and PSG later this month.

Manager Pep Guardiola admitted that his side is in “difficulty” as in the pre-match press conference before the Wycombe tie,he said :

"We are going to see how many people recover for the next days, because we are in difficult conditions right now, but we will go there to London, Paris and Liverpool to do good games, absolutely"

For now,it has been understood that the Spaniard will field a young side in the upcoming FA Cup tie and hence responsibility will be handed to young guns like Liam Delap, Cole Palmer and Luke Mbete.

Although problems might arise for the Sky Blues when they face A-grade sides like Chelsea and PSG. It will be important for the English Champions to step up in these penultimate games as the club would not want to lose ground in these two prime competitions.

Also, at the same time, it will be vital for City to manage the workload of Kevin De Bruyne as he has just marked his return from injury. The Belgian will again likely play an important role for the club this season and therefore is expected to remain fit for the rest of the season.

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Manchester City have all the necessary ingredients to defend their title this season but for now, it will be vital for Guardiola to weather the storm in the squad. This current crisis will be a test of City’s character and grit and hence would look to start the week with a win over Wycombe.