Why Kevin De Bruyne could miss Man City’s next match with Aston Villa
Last Updated: January 18, 2021 6:57 pm
Quality rotation
Manchester City have seemingly got their season back on track and look set for a solid challenge for the title once again. However, they could face some problems should they lose any of their key players.
Current champions Liverpool have struggled this season to maintain a solid pace after losing several of their first-team players such as Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Diogo Jota.
Manchester City have the benefit of securing several high-profile signings over the previous few seasons and have strength in depth in almost all areas. The signing of Ruben Dias in the summer and the re-emergence of John Stones as a centre-back presence has left Guardiola leaving the likes of Eric Garcia and the expensive Aymeric Laporte on the bench.
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND – JANUARY 04: John Stones of Manchester City during the FA Cup Third Round match between Manchester City and Port Vale at Etihad Stadium on January 4, 2020 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Visionhaus)
Despite the return from injury of Sergio Aguero and Gabriel Jesus also being available, Guardiola has often opted to choose Raheem Sterling or Ferran Torres as the central striking option over his more orthodox forwards. The likes of Phil Foden, Riyad Mahrez and Kevin de Bruyne along with Bernardo Silva have provided plenty of quality rotation.
There is so much quality however that it can make it difficult for Fantasy football managers to decide which players to pick considering the unpredictability of the Spanish coach’s selection.
Kevin De Bruyne ankle injury worry
However, there could be some bad news for both City and the Fantasy managers which have selected Kevin De Bruyne for their captain pick this double Gameweek.
The talismanic figure of Pep Guardiola’s team was substituted seemingly with an injury issue in yesterday’s match. On the ‘Totally Football Show’ podcast, Daniel Storey spoke about a possible worry for Manchester City regarding the Belgian.
“Kevin De Bruyne hobbled off with what looked like a sore ankle,” he said.
Listen to the comments on De Bruyne’s ankle after 5 minutes on the audio unit below.
It should be stressed that it’s a struggle to find any other information on the potential ankle injury to De Bruyne following the Crystal Palace game.
After the game, when speaking about the match, Pep Guardiola did not mention any information regarding an injury to the 29-year-old.
“What can I say, again?” Guardiola said when asked about the Belgian’s performance.
“The managers can help many things but one thing that belongs to [the players] is the talent up front. Managers are incredibly fortunate or lucky to be in charge with this kind of player because it makes your life easier.”
WOLVERHAMPTON, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 21: Kevin De Bruyne of Manchester City looks on during the Premier League match between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Manchester City at Molineux on September 21, 2020 in Wolverhampton, England. (Photo by Malcolm Couzens/Getty Images)
Manchester City’s next match is in midweek against Aston Villa who will be playing their first game since their coronavirus outbreak prior to the FA Cup third round.
Watch highlights of Man City 4 – Crystal Palace 0
Kevin De Bruyne enters contract negotiations with Manchester City with Belgian ‘happy’ at the club
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This article was edited by Josh Barker.
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| # | Team | MP | D | P |
| 1 | Manchester City FC | 32 | 44 | 74 |
| 2 | Manchester United FC | 30 | 25 | 60 |
| 3 | Leicester City FC | 30 | 19 | 56 |
| 4 | Liverpool FC | 31 | 16 | 52 |
| 5 | West Ham United FC | 30 | 11 | 52 |
| 6 | Chelsea FC | 30 | 16 | 51 |
| 7 | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 30 | 19 | 49 |
| 8 | Everton FC | 29 | 3 | 47 |
| 9 | Leeds United | 31 | 0 | 45 |
| 10 | Aston Villa FC | 30 | 10 | 44 |
| 11 | Arsenal FC | 30 | 5 | 42 |
| 12 | Wolverhampton Wanderers FC | 31 | -10 | 38 |
| 13 | Crystal Palace FC | 30 | -16 | 38 |
| 14 | Southampton FC | 30 | -14 | 36 |
| 15 | Burnley FC | 30 | -16 | 33 |
| 16 | Brighton & Hove Albion FC | 30 | -5 | 32 |
| 17 | Newcastle United FC | 30 | -20 | 29 |
| 18 | Fulham FC | 32 | -18 | 26 |
| 19 | West Bromwich Albion | 30 | -34 | 21 |
| 20 | Sheffield United FC | 30 | -35 | 14 |
| Player | Team | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| Kane, Harry | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 19 |
| Salah, Mohamed | Liverpool FC | 19 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United FC | 16 |
| Bamford, Patrick | Leeds United | 14 |
| Calvert-Lewin, Dominic | Everton FC | 14 |
| Son, Heung Min | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 13 |
| Vardy, Jamie | Leicester City FC | 12 |
| Watkins, Ollie | Aston Villa FC | 12 |
| Gundogan, Ilkay | Manchester City FC | 12 |
| Lacazette, Alexandre | Arsenal FC | 11 |
| Rashford, Marcus | Manchester United FC | 10 |
| Wilson, Callum | Newcastle United FC | 10 |
| Sterling, Raheem | Manchester City FC | 9 |
| Ings, Danny | Southampton FC | 9 |
| Mahrez, Riyad | Manchester City FC | 9 |
| Barnes, Harvey | Leicester City FC | 9 |
| Zaha, Wilfried | Crystal Palace FC | 9 |
| Aubameyang, Pierre-Emerick | Arsenal FC | 9 |
| Soucek, Tomas | West Ham United FC | 9 |
| Maddison, James | Leicester City FC | 8 |
| Player | Team | Red Cards | Yellow Cards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lundstram, John | Sheffield United FC | 1 | 8 |
| Gallagher, Conor | West Bromwich Albion | 0 | 8 |
| Maguire, Harry | Manchester United FC | 0 | 8 |
| Bellerin, Hector | Arsenal FC | 0 | 8 |
| Milivojevic, Luka | Crystal Palace FC | 1 | 7 |
| Luiz, Douglas | Aston Villa FC | 0 | 7 |
| Hayden, Isaac | Newcastle United FC | 0 | 8 |
| McGinn, John | Aston Villa FC | 0 | 7 |
| Neves, Ruben | Wolverhampton Wanderers FC | 0 | 7 |
| Xhaka, Granit | Arsenal FC | 1 | 6 |
| Phillips, Kalvin | Leeds United | 0 | 7 |
| Evans, Jonny | Leicester City FC | 0 | 7 |
| Egan, John | Sheffield United FC | 1 | 6 |
| Targett, Matt | Aston Villa FC | 0 | 7 |
| Bissouma, Yves | Brighton & Hove Albion FC | 1 | 6 |
| Grealish, Jack | Aston Villa FC | 0 | 6 |
| Tielemans, Youri | Leicester City FC | 0 | 6 |
| Soucek, Tomas | West Ham United FC | 1 | 5 |
| McGoldrick, David | Sheffield United FC | 0 | 6 |
| Shaw, Luke | Manchester United FC | 0 | 6 |
| Player | Team | Assists |
|---|---|---|
| Kane, Harry | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 13 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United FC | 11 |
| Grealish, Jack | Aston Villa FC | 10 |
| De Bruyne, Kevin | Manchester City FC | 10 |
| Son, Heung Min | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 9 |
| Rashford, Marcus | Manchester United FC | 7 |
| Cresswell, Aaron | West Ham United FC | 7 |
| Bamford, Patrick | Leeds United | 6 |
| Vardy, Jamie | Leicester City FC | 6 |
| Sterling, Raheem | Manchester City FC | 6 |
| Mane, Sadio | Liverpool FC | 6 |
| Pereira, Matheus | West Bromwich Albion | 6 |
| Raphinha | Leeds United | 6 |
| Werner, Timo | Chelsea FC | 6 |
| Neto, Pedro | Wolverhampton Wanderers FC | 6 |
| Gross, Pascal | Brighton & Hove Albion FC | 6 |
| Digne, Lucas | Everton FC | 6 |
| Maddison, James | Leicester City FC | 5 |
| Antonio, Michail | West Ham United FC | 5 |
| Ward-Prowse, James | Southampton FC | 5 |
