Guardiolaweighsupoptionsamidinjuryreturns
ManchesterCityapproachtheirfinalhomefixtureofthePremierLeagueseasonagainstBournemouthwithafamiliarsenseofuncertainty.Notovertheirambitionorthestakes,butratherwhoPepGuardiolacantrusttodeliveramidaspateoflingeringinjuriesandnarrativeweight.
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Rodri,longconsideredCity’son-pitchmetronome,hasnotfeaturedsinceSeptemberduetoaseriouskneeinjury.Hisabsencehaspromptedsystemictweaks,philosophicalrecalibrations,andintermittentspellsofdisjointedfootball.Butnow,withtheClubWorldCuploominginJune,theSpaniardisnearingreadinessandmayreturntothematchdaysquad —thoughheisunlikelytostart.
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“Rodriisevenbetterdaybyday,”Guardiolaoffered.Itwasalineheavywithbothhopeandrealism.
DeBruyne’semotionalEtihadfarewell?
MuchofthespotlightwillfallonKevinDeBruyne,whopreparesforwhatcouldbehisfinalappearanceattheEtihadStadium.TheBelgian’ssignificancetranscendsmerestatistics.Guardiola,evermeasuredinhisphrasing,spokewithsincerity.
“KevinwantsustowinthegametoqualifyfortheChampionsLeaguenextseason.ThisiswhatKevinwants.Iwillpickthebestteamtowinthegame.”
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Headded: “Kevinwillgetwhathedeservesinthebestmomentforwhathehasdone.WhatwehavedonewouldnotbepossiblewithoutKevin.”
Theimplicationisclear —DeBruyne’sfarewellwillbemanagedcarefully,perhapspoetically.ButGuardiola’spriorityremainsqualification,notsentimentality.
Fringeplayersreadytostepin
ThepotentialreturnsofMateoKovacic,JohnStones,NathanAke,andOscarBobbgiveGuardiolaoptions,evenifnoneareconfirmedstarters. “We’llsee.Someplayersarebetter,”washistypicallyopaqueresponse.
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Meanwhile,thelikesofRicoLewisandJamesMcAteewillbeeagerforinclusionaftertheirWembleyomissions.Withuncertaintyinwidepositions,playerssuchasSavinhoandJeremyDokumayfindtheirplacesunderpressure.
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ManCitypredictedlineupvsBournemouth
PredictedXI:Ederson,Nunes,Dias,Gvardiol,O’Reilly,Gonzalez,Gundogan,Bernardo,DeBruyne,Marmoush,Haaland
Doubts:Rodri,Kovacic
Injured:Ake (ankle),Bobb (thigh),Stones (thigh)
MatchDetails
Time:8pmBST,Tuesday20May2025
Venue:EtihadStadium
Watch:SkySportsandNOW