Insight provided into Man City’s Covid cases as matchday squad (including Benjamin Mendy) to face Chelsea unveiled
Manchester City’s matchday squad to take on Chelsea was revealed a short time ago, in the process providing an insight into the Covid-19 situation at the club.
Last Updated: January 3, 2021 4:20 pm
Chelsea host City
Pep Guardiola’s men are set to return to action shortly, in a Premier League meeting with the Blues at Stamford Bridge.
City will head into proceedings with their tails up, boasting a 10-game unbeaten streak across all competitions, including wins in their last three.
Such fine form, in turn, means that victories in their two games in hand will see the Citizens move to within a point of joint table-toppers Liverpool and Manchester United.
SHEFFIELD, ENGLAND – OCTOBER 31: Kyle Walker of Manchester City celebrates with teammates after scoring his team’s first goal during the Premier League match between Sheffield United and Manchester City at Bramall Lane on October 31, 2020 in Sheffield, England. Sporting stadiums around the UK remain under strict restrictions due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in games being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)
Whilst proceedings on the pitch have been progressing swimmingly for Guardiola and co. of late, however, what has certainly not been is the club’s situation away from the pitch.
City are currently in the midst of a concerning Covid-19 outbreak, the extent of which even saw the Sky Blues’ scheduled meeting with Everton postponed earlier this week.
Ahead of their trip to London this evening, meanwhile, word was forthcoming earlier today that the number of positive cases at the Etihad had reached eight:
Just in: #ManCity have had another positive Covid-19 test returned from Friday’s testing – taking the total number at the club to eight. @ManCity were tested again today, with the results expected to arrive tomorrow morning.
[via @SunMartinB]
— Man City Xtra (@City_Xtra) January 2, 2021
Mendy in/Torres out
In turn, ahead of kick-off at Stamford Bridge, widespread attention had centered on the announcement of City’s latest matchday squad.
The Citizens, before Sunday, had revealed the identities of only two of those to have contracted the virus, in the form of Gabriel Jesus and Kyle Walker.
The recent social media activity of shot-stopper Ederson hinted that the Brazilian was another to have tested positive, though, whilst an official announcement this afternoon saw the name of defender Eric Garcia added to the list.
This left a further pair of players to be confirmed, with it previously revealed that two of the eight to have returned positive tests came in the form of staff members.
Manchester City’s Eric Garcia Manchester City v Sheffield United – Premier League – Etihad Stadium 29-12-2019 . (Photo by Anthony Devlin/EMPICS/PA Images via Getty Images)
And, as outlined above, on the back of City’s squad to face Chelsea being unveiled a short time ago, it has since become clear which other members of Pep Guardiola’s camp are now in self-isolation.
Both Benjamin Mendy, who has come under heavy scrutiny for his decision to host a New Year’s Eve party, and Joao Cancelo, who had been rumoured to have picked up Covid, are available for selection this evening.
Aymeric Laporte and Nathan Ake, meanwhile, are continuing in their respective efforts to regain full fitness.
City say that Laporte is injured and Ake not fully fit
— Sam Lee (@SamLee) January 3, 2021
This leaves just young midfielder Tommy Doyle and summer addition Ferran Torres, both of whom are now thought to have contracted the virus.
🚨 TEAM NEWS! 🚨
XI | Steffen, Cancelo, Dias, Stones, Zinchenko, Rodrigo, Gundogan, De Bruyne (C), Foden, Bernardo, Sterling.
SUBS | Carson, Aguero, Mendy, Fernandinho, Mahrez, Delap, Harwood-Bellis, Mbete.
📋 @HaysWorldwide
🔷 #ManCity | https://t.co/axa0klD5re pic.twitter.com/6PyFzdfCjl— Manchester City (@ManCity) January 3, 2021
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This article was edited by Conor Laird.
Football Live streaming: Featured matches on January 17, 2020
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| # | Team | MP | D | P |
| 1 | Manchester United FC | 17 | 10 | 36 |
| 2 | Leicester City FC | 18 | 12 | 35 |
| 3 | Liverpool FC | 17 | 16 | 33 |
| 4 | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 18 | 16 | 33 |
| 5 | Manchester City FC | 16 | 12 | 32 |
| 6 | Everton FC | 17 | 7 | 32 |
| 7 | Chelsea FC | 18 | 12 | 29 |
| 8 | Southampton FC | 18 | 5 | 29 |
| 9 | West Ham United FC | 18 | 4 | 29 |
| 10 | Aston Villa FC | 15 | 13 | 26 |
| 11 | Arsenal FC | 18 | 1 | 24 |
| 12 | Leeds United | 18 | -4 | 23 |
| 13 | Crystal Palace FC | 18 | -7 | 23 |
| 14 | Wolverhampton Wanderers FC | 19 | -8 | 22 |
| 15 | Newcastle United FC | 17 | -9 | 19 |
| 16 | Brighton & Hove Albion FC | 19 | -7 | 17 |
| 17 | Burnley FC | 17 | -13 | 16 |
| 18 | Fulham FC | 17 | -11 | 12 |
| 19 | West Bromwich Albion | 18 | -27 | 11 |
| 20 | Sheffield United FC | 19 | -22 | 5 |
| Player | Team | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| Salah, Mohamed | Liverpool FC | 13 |
| Kane, Harry | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 12 |
| Son, Heung Min | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 12 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United FC | 11 |
| Vardy, Jamie | Leicester City FC | 11 |
| Calvert-Lewin, Dominic | Everton FC | 11 |
| Bamford, Patrick | Leeds United | 10 |
| Zaha, Wilfried | Crystal Palace FC | 8 |
| Wilson, Callum | Newcastle United FC | 8 |
| Rashford, Marcus | Manchester United FC | 7 |
| Ings, Danny | Southampton FC | 7 |
| Maupay, Neal | Brighton & Hove Albion FC | 7 |
| Lacazette, Alexandre | Arsenal FC | 7 |
| Mane, Sadio | Liverpool FC | 6 |
| Watkins, Ollie | Aston Villa FC | 6 |
| Abraham, Tammy | Chelsea FC | 6 |
| Barnes, Harvey | Leicester City FC | 6 |
| Grealish, Jack | Aston Villa FC | 5 |
| Firmino, Roberto | Liverpool FC | 5 |
| Maddison, James | Leicester City FC | 5 |
| Player | Team | Red Cards | Yellow Cards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bellerin, Hector | Arsenal FC | 0 | 6 |
| Bissouma, Yves | Brighton & Hove Albion FC | 1 | 5 |
| Egan, John | Sheffield United FC | 1 | 5 |
| Hayden, Isaac | Newcastle United FC | 0 | 6 |
| Reid, Bobby | Fulham FC | 0 | 5 |
| Doucoure, Abdoulaye | Everton FC | 0 | 5 |
| Romeu, Oriol | Southampton FC | 0 | 5 |
| Dunk, Lewis | Brighton & Hove Albion FC | 1 | 4 |
| Phillips, Kalvin | Leeds United | 0 | 5 |
| Cash, Matty | Aston Villa FC | 0 | 5 |
| Gallagher, Conor | West Bromwich Albion | 0 | 5 |
| Evans, Jonny | Leicester City FC | 0 | 5 |
| Lundstram, John | Sheffield United FC | 1 | 4 |
| Kante, N`Golo | Chelsea FC | 0 | 5 |
| Milivojevic, Luka | Crystal Palace FC | 1 | 4 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United FC | 0 | 4 |
| Grealish, Jack | Aston Villa FC | 0 | 4 |
| Ward-Prowse, James | Southampton FC | 0 | 4 |
| Tielemans, Youri | Leicester City FC | 0 | 4 |
| Klich, Mateusz | Leeds United | 0 | 4 |
| Player | Team | Assists |
|---|---|---|
| Kane, Harry | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 11 |
| De Bruyne, Kevin | Manchester City FC | 8 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United FC | 7 |
| Grealish, Jack | Aston Villa FC | 7 |
| Son, Heung Min | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 6 |
| Rashford, Marcus | Manchester United FC | 5 |
| Robertson, Andrew | Liverpool FC | 5 |
| Digne, Lucas | Everton FC | 5 |
| Vardy, Jamie | Leicester City FC | 4 |
| Ward-Prowse, James | Southampton FC | 4 |
| Werner, Timo | Chelsea FC | 4 |
| Adams, Che | Southampton FC | 4 |
| Harrison, Jack | Leeds United | 4 |
| Chilwell, Benjamin | Chelsea FC | 4 |
| McGinn, John | Aston Villa FC | 4 |
| Cresswell, Aaron | West Ham United FC | 4 |
| Salah, Mohamed | Liverpool FC | 3 |
| Ings, Danny | Southampton FC | 3 |
| Firmino, Roberto | Liverpool FC | 3 |
| Sterling, Raheem | Manchester City FC | 3 |
