Ahead of Manchester City’s clash against Juventus, Pep Guardiola would be hoping that a majority of his squad is fit and ready to come out on top during Thursday’s contest.
Rico Lewis has been ruled out against Juventus after being handed a two-match ban after serving a one-match suspension against Al Ain after being sent off against Wydad AC.
Manchester City were frustrated about Lewis’ red card but their decision to appeal the decision was rejected.
Mateo Kovacic is injured anyway and has been ruled out of the FIFA Club World Cup for the entirety of the tournament.
Claudio Echeverri on crutches ahead of Man City vs Juventus
Claudio Echeverri twisted his ankle against Al Ain and had to be withdrawn at half-time despite scoring a free-kick in the first half and looking like one of City’s bright sparks.
Pep Guardiola called Echeverri “incredible” after his heroics as well.
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However, ESPN have reported that the Argentine was on crutches and wearing a protective boot after suffering his latest injury during the Sky Blues’ latest training session.
While Stefan Ortega compared Echeverri to Julian Alvarez as it seemed like he could have a chance of taking the Club World Cup by storm, he could be ruled out against Juventus and for Manchester City for a while as well.
Omar Marmoush could replace Claudio Echeverri against Juventus
When City had the ball against Al Ain, the youngster played in a front two alongside Erling Haaland and at times, he drifted out to the left flank as well.
But when the Sky Blues were defending, the highly-rated midfielder was tasked to play on the left-wing.
Manchester City forward Omar Marmoush could start against Juventus as he is accustomed to playing in Echeverri’s position against Al Ain.
Despite the former River Plate attacker’s exploits, Pep Guardiola would likely have started Marmoush or another experienced player instead of him against Juve as the fixture is a big game.