Injury blow for City ahead of clash against Bournemouth

Manchester City winger Savinho and defender Manuel Akanji joined the club’s lengthy injury list after Wednesday’s 2-1 League Cup defeat to Tottenham Hotspur and manager Pep Guardiola said he has been left with 13 available players in his squad.

Savinho was taken off on a stretcher in the 62nd minute with an apparent ankle injury, while Akanji did not start the match due to a muscular issue during the warm-up.

City are already without key players Kevin De Bruyne, Rodri, and Kyle Walker while Oscar Bobb, Jeremy Doku and Jack Grealish have also missed recent games.

“We have 13 players (available) so we are in real difficulty. The guys that play, they finish most of them with problems and we’ll see how they recover,” Guardiola told reporters.

“I think we are in trouble, because in nine years we’ve never been in the situation with so many injuries.

“Hopefully he (Savinho) is not in danger but we will see... Akanji yesterday, I didn’t know it, in the last action felt something in the muscular part of his body and today in the warm-up he didn’t feel good.”

City lead the Premier League by one point from Liverpool and next travel to Bournemouth on Saturday.

Arsenal face Newcastle test: Injury-hit Arsenal suffered the frustration of conceding a late equaliser against Liverpool last week, following their shock defeat at Bournemouth.

If they lose at St James’ Park on Saturday, they could find themselves a daunting eight points behind champions City by the end of the day.

Mikel Arteta’s men have pushed City all the way in the past two seasons and know they cannot afford to fall off the pace, with Liverpool also riding high.

The Gunners’ 3-0 League Cup win against Preston in midweek gave them a lift ahead of tough games against Newcastle, Inter Milan and Chelsea, with Gabriel Jesus scoring his first goal since January.

Although any match at St James’ Park is potentially daunting, Newcastle are more of a threat on paper than on the pitch at the moment following a run of five league games without a win.

Inconsistent Spurs: Tottenham are a conundrum -- capable of scintillating attacking football but frustratingly fragile.

Ange Postecoglou knows his inconsistent team must put a run of results together if they are to challenge for the top four, which they missed out on last season.

Spurs have enjoyed big wins against Everton, Manchester United and West Ham but they have already suffered four defeats in their nine Premier League matches so far.

Spurs, who have won eight of their past 10 games in all competitions, suffered a shock 1-0 defeat at Crystal Palace last week before a morale-boosting League Cup win against Manchester City in midweek.

Postecoglou will be desperate to have Son Heung-min fighting fit after the South Korean missed three of the past four league games.

Unai Emery’s Villa have dazzled in the Champions League and have made a strong start to their Premier League season, sitting fourth in the table, level on points with Arsenal.

They have drawn three of their past four league games to lose ground on the leaders, but have won on their past two visits to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and boast significant firepower with Ollie Watkins and Jhon Duran in the ranks.

Slot expecting different game: Liverpool’s League Cup victory at Brighton & Hove Albion this week will count for little when they meet in the Premier League at Anfield, their manager Arne Slot said on Friday.

Liverpool are second with 22 points from nine games, a point behind leaders Manchester City and six points above sixth-placed Brighton, who they beat 3-2 in a League Cup fourth round clash on Wednesday when both clubs fielding weakened sides.

“It’s not weird, especially because both teams didn’t start with the team they will start with on Saturday. For both managers it’s a positive thing because you know even more about the opponent.

“Although players make the game and it’s of course a difference if a different player plays. The playing style might be the same, but the qualities of the players make 10 times the difference. That changes the game on Saturday, of course, compared to the one on Wednesday.”

Liverpool have a lack of firepower after injuries to Diogo Jota and Federico Chiesa and Slot was forced to field just two outright attacking players in the win over Brighton.

Agencies



Premier League fixtures: (1500 GMT unless stated)

Saturday: Newcastle vs Arsenal (1230), Bournemouth vs Manchester City, Ipswich vs Leicester, Liverpool vs Brighton, Nottingham Forest vs West Ham, Southampton vs Everton, Wolves vs Crystal Palace (1730)

Sunday: Tottenham vs Aston Villa (1400), Man.Utd vs Chelsea (1630)

Monday: Fulham vs Brentford (2000)