Manchester City travel to London to face Crystal Palace in the Premier League, where they’ll be looking to carry on the momentum from their 3-0 win over Nottingham Forest.
The Blues will be confident after their best performance in months, however they’ll be depleted with injuries to as many as seven of their players.
Here are five things to look out for in the clash with Oliver Glasner’s men:
A weaker backline
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The only negative from the Nottingham Forest game were the injuries picked up by Manuel Akanji and Nathan Ake.
Ake is definitely out (along with Rodri, Oscar Bobb, John Stones, Phil Foden and Mateo Kovacic) whilst Akanji is a major doubt.
If that pair are to miss the Palace match, then it’s safe to say that City will be somewhat weakened at the back, due largely to the recent poor form of Kyle Walker and Rico Lewis.
However, it must be noted that Walker was solid off the bench against Forest and Lewis has qualities no other defender has, namely his extreme technical ability that allows him to tuck into midfield.
Nonetheless, Akanji and Ake will be big misses, and we can only hope that we’ll see them return to full fitness soon.
De Bruyne and Grealish in midfield
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City’s midfield eight duo of Kevin De Bruyne and Jack Grealish were fantastic against Forest, and the hope will be that they can both start again against the Eagles.
De Bruyne impacted the game with a goal and an assist whilst Grealish sat a bit deeper and controlled the tempo along with Ilkay Gundogan, who also played well.
Both have struggled for fitness over the last 18 months or so, and with Juventus and Manchester United coming up Pep Guardiola may choose to rest one or both of them but City will no doubt be much stronger with the pair of them starting centrally.
Young players on the bench
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Seven injuries for City means the bench will likely be filled with youth players.
Ake, Stones and potentially Akanji make up City’s defensive absentees, whilst Rodri and Kovacic leave a gulf in midfield and Foden and Bobb’s absences weaken the attack.
However, it potentially gives Jacob Wright, Nico O’Reilly, James McAtee or Jahmai Simpson-Pusey the chance to have a Rico Lewis 2022/23-esque season and break into the first team, which can only be a positive thing as it saves the club money on transfers and adds to the evergrowing list of popular academy graduates making it into the first team.
Threat from the wings
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Other than Bobb, City now have all their wingers fit again, and have options in the wide areas.
Jeremy Doku was fantastic against Forest with a goal and an assist from the left hand side, and will probably start again at Selhurst Park.
The right will be occupied either by Savinho or Bernardo Silva, or, as a wildcard option, Matheus Nunes could be an option after winning the Etihad Player of the Month for November.
Having this number of options available demands the best from every player and ensures that they all play at the top of their game in order to keep their place in the side - a positive thing that will only improve when Bobb returns to fitness too.
A few players rested ahead of busy schedule
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City have bigger games against tougher opposition coming up, with matches against Juventus and Manchester United coming next week.
A few of the players who have just returned from injury - namely De Bruyne, Grealish and Ruben Dias - may be rested, although in the Portuguese defender’s case the defensive injuries mean there might not be the luxury to leave him out.
However, Guardiola will want to keep momentum up, and with a free midweek after the Manchester derby now wouldn’t seem like the best time to make any changes; the main priority should be on rebuilding confidence and momentum after the recent poor run with three wins.