Manchester City will be without the services of star striker Sergio
Aguero when they take on Manchester United on Saturday, according to
Pep Guardiola.
Argentina international Aguero picked up a thigh injury during City’s
2-1 victory over Chelsea on November 23 and subsequently missed
Saturday’s draw at Newcastle.
There had been some suggestions the 31-year-old could return to action
for Tuesday’s trip to Burnley or this weekend’s derby clash with
Manchester United at the Etihad Stadium.
Guardiola has now confirmed his comeback will not happen until after
those games.
“He won’t be ready for the derby,” Guardiola told reporters. “After
that we will see.”
City’s 2-2 draw with Newcastle on Saturday means they head into
Tuesday’s match at Turf Moor sitting third in the standings and a
staggering 11 points behind leaders Liverpool.
The Citizens’ chances of claiming a third successive top-flight crown
seem slim, as things stand, but Guardiola has urged his players not
worry about what their title rivals are doing.
“The players have to believe. They have to believe we will win
tomorrow,” Guardiola added.
“They can’t think too much about the teams in front. We have to think
about what to do to win the games. We have to try to be more solid
with the chances we have and the chances we concede.”
City’s form has been patchy of late as they have only won one of their
last five matches across all competitions.
However, they have only lost one of their previous 22 meetings with
Burnley, a run that stretches back to 1974.
Equally as importantly, the Citizens need to embark on a winning run
as they did last season although the longest streak they have managed
to put together has been three victories and they recently dropped two
points at St James’ Park after twice leading against Newcastle.
However, a Manchester derby gives the home side a chance to get fired
up ahead of the festive schedule of fixtures and the champions have
averaged three goals per home in the Premier League thus far.
The Etihad can often provide a subdued atmosphere although the home
supporters will be pumped by the arrival of a United team who have
only won one of their seven games on the road in the Premier League.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer continues to put a brave face on poor results,
with Sheffield United and Aston Villa matching and sometimes
outplaying the Red Devils recently and this doesn’t bode well against
a slick City team who have all those attacking riches.
It appears that Sergio Aguero will be absent for the clash, although
Gabriel Jesus can be a thorn in the side and is likely to be flanked
by Riyad Mahrez and Raheem Sterling, although it’s Kevin de Bruyne who
is likely to be the driving force from midfield.
The one big positive for United is that they often flourish in the
role of underdogs and actually came close to beating Liverpool at Old
Trafford this season, although this is a far tougher assignment.
As per last season, we feel as though the visitors can get themselves
on the scoresheet although they will surely be outscored by opponents
who still have bundles of class.
HEAD-TO-HEAD
Man City. Matches. Win. Draw. Lose
Overall. 38. 19. 9. 10
Home. 19. 12. 2. 5
Away. 19. 7. 7. 5
Man Utd. Matches. Win. Draw. Lose
Overall. 38. 19. 9. 10
Home. 19. 12. 5. 2
Away. 19. 7. 4. 8
WEEKEND FIXTURES
NPFL
Ifeanyi Uba vs Wikki Tourists
Enyimba vs Rivers Utd
Katsina Utd vs MFM
Sunshine Stars vs Nasarawa United
Akwa United vs Adamawa United
Kano Pillars vs Delta Force
Abia Warriors vs Akwa Starlets
Heartland vs Plateau Utd
Warri Wolves vs Lobi Stars
NPFL
Club MP W D L GF GA GD Pts
Plateau Utd 6 4 2 0 10 4 6 14
Wikki Tourists 6 4 1 1 8 4 4 13
Akwa Starlets 5 3 2 0 6 2 4 11
Lobi Stars 5 3 1 1 9 3 6 10
Enyimba 5 3 1 1 9 4 5 10
Abia Warriors 6 2 3 1 4 2 2 9
Rivers Utd 6 2 3 1 4 3 1 9
MFM 5 2 2 1 4 3 1 8
Ifeanyi Uba 6 2 2 2 4 4 0 8
Sunshine Stars 6 2 2 2 4 5 -1 8
Katsina Utd 6 2 2 2 4 7 -3 8
Adamawa United 6 2 1 3 6 6 0 7
Delta Force 6 2 1 3 8 12 -4 7
Warri Wolves 6 1 3 2 5 5 0 6
Jigawa Golden Stars 6 2 0 4 5 9 -4 6
Heartland 6 1 2 3 3 7 -4 5
Akwa United 6 0 4 2 3 6 -3 4
Enugu Rangers 5 1 1 3 3 6 -3 4
Kano Pillars 5 0 3 2 0 2 -2 3
Nasarawa United 6 0 2 4 3 8 -5 2
EPL
Everton vs Chelsea
Bournemouth vs Liverpool
Tottenham vs Burnley FC
Watford vs Crystal Palace
Man. City vs Man United
Aston Villa vs Leicester City
Newcastle vs Southampton
Norwich City vs Sheff Utd
Brighton vs Wolves
West Ham vs Arsenal
EPL
Club MP W D L GF GA GD Pts
Liverpool 14 13 1 0 32 12 20 40
Leicester City 14 10 2 2 33 9 24 32
Man. City 14 9 2 3 39 16 23 29
Chelsea 14 8 2 4 28 20 8 26
Tottenham 14 5 5 4 24 21 3 20
Wolves 14 4 8 2 19 17 2 20
Sheff Utd 14 4 7 3 17 13 4 19
Arsenal 14 4 7 3 20 21 -1 19
Man United 14 4 6 4 21 17 4 18
Burnley FC 14 5 3 6 20 20 0 18
Crystal Palace 14 5 3 6 13 18 -5 18
Bournemouth 14 4 4 6 18 20 -2 16
West Ham 14 4 4 6 17 23 -6 16
Newcastle 14 4 4 6 13 22 -9 16
Aston Villa 14 4 3 7 21 22 -1 15
Brighton 14 4 3 7 16 21 -5 15
Everton 14 4 2 8 14 22 -8 14
Southampton 14 3 3 8 15 32 -17 12
Norwich City 14 3 2 9 15 30 -15 11
Watford 14 1 5 8 9 28 -19 8
LA LIGA
Villarreal vs Atlético Madrid
Real Madrid vs Espanyol
Granada vs Alavés
Levante vs Valencia
Barcelona vs RCD Mallorca
Eibar vs Getafe CF
Real Betis vs Ath. Bilbao
Valladolid vs Real Sociedad
Leganes vs Celta Vigo
Osasuna vs Sevilla
LA LIGA
Club MP W D L GF GA GD
Barcelona 14 10 1 3 36 16 20 31
Real Madrid 14 9 4 1 30 11 19 31
Sevilla 15 9 3 3 19 14 5 30
Real Sociedad 15 8 2 5 26 18 8 26
Ath. Bilbao 15 7 5 3 17 9 8 26
Atlético Madrid 15 6 7 2 16 10 6 25
Getafe CF 15 6 6 3 23 16 7 24
Valencia 15 6 5 4 22 21 1 23
Osasuna 15 5 7 3 21 17 4 22
Granada 15 6 3 6 20 20 0 21
Levante 15 6 2 7 18 21 -3 20
Real Betis 15 5 4 6 19 25 -6 19
Villarreal 15 5 3 7 28 24 4 18
Alavés 15 5 3 7 17 20 -3 18
Valladolid 15 4 6 5 14 18 -4 18
Eibar 15 4 3 8 15 27 -12 15
RCD Mallorca 15 4 2 9 14 23 -9 14
Celta Vigo 15 3 4 8 10 20 -10 13
Espanyol 15 2 3 10 10 28 -18 9
Leganes 15 1 3 11 8 25 -17 6
BUNDESLIGA
Eintracht vs Hertha
Mönchengladbach vs Bayern
RB Leipzig vs Hoffenheim
Dortmund vs Fortuna
Augsburg vs Mainz
SC Freiburg vs Wolfsburg
Bayer vs Schalke 04
Union Berlin vs 1. FC Köln
Werder vs Paderborn
BUNDESLIGA
Club MP W D L GF GA GD Pts
Mönchengladbach 13 9 1 3 28 15 13 28
RB Leipzig 13 8 3 2 36 15 21 27
Schalke 04 13 7 4 2 24 16 8 25
Bayern 13 7 3 3 34 18 16 24
Dortmund 13 6 5 2 28 19 9 23
SC Freiburg 13 6 4 3 23 17 6 22
Bayer 13 6 4 3 20 17 3 22
Hoffenheim 13 6 3 4 18 20 -2 21
Wolfsburg 13 5 5 3 15 13 2 20
Eintracht 13 5 2 6 22 20 2 17
Union Berlin 13 5 1 7 16 19 -3 16
Mainz 13 5 0 8 19 32 -13 15
Werder 13 3 5 5 22 28 -6 14
Augsburg 13 3 5 5 18 25 -7 14
Fortuna 13 3 3 7 16 24 -8 12
Hertha 13 3 2 8 18 27 -9 11
1. FC Köln 13 2 2 9 12 28 -16 8
Paderborn 13 1 2 10 16 32 -16 5
SERIE A
Inter Milan vs Roma
Atalanta vs Verona
Udinese vs Napoli
Lazio vs Juventus
Lecce vs Genoa
SPAL vs Brescia
Sassuolo vs Cagliari
Torino vs Fiorentina
Sampdoria vs Parma
Bologna vs Milan
SERIE A
Club MP W D L GF GA GD
Inter Milan 14 12 1 1 31 13 18 37
Juventus 14 11 3 0 25 12 13 36
Lazio 14 9 3 2 33 14 19 30
Cagliari 14 8 4 2 29 17 12 28
Roma 14 8 4 2 26 15 11 28
Atalanta 14 7 4 3 34 21 13 25
Napoli 14 5 5 4 23 18 5 20
Parma 14 5 3 6 20 18 2 18
Verona 14 5 3 6 12 14 -2 18
Torino 14 5 2 7 16 20 -4 17
Milan 14 5 2 7 13 17 -4 17
Bologna 14 4 4 6 20 23 -3 16
Fiorentina 14 4 4 6 18 21 -3 16
Sassuolo 13 4 2 7 24 25 -1 14
Lecce 14 3 5 6 18 27 -9 14
Udinese 14 4 2 8 9 23 -14 14
Sampdoria 14 3 3 8 12 24 -12 12
Genoa 14 2 4 8 15 28 -13 10
SPAL 14 2 3 9 9 21 -12 9
Brescia 13 2 1 10 10 26 -16 7
LIGUE 1
Lille vs Brest
Nîmes vs Lyon
Montpellier vs PSG
Strasbourg vs Toulouse
Rennes vs Angers
Monaco vs Amiens SC
OGC Nice vs Metz
Stade Reims vs St-Étienne
Nantes vs Dijon FCO
Marseille vs Bordeaux
LIGUE 1
Club MP W D L GF GA GD
PSG 14 11 0 3 30 8 22 33
Marseille 15 8 4 3 20 18 2 28
Angers 15 7 3 5 19 19 0 24
Montpellier 15 6 5 4 18 12 6 23
Bordeaux 15 6 5 4 21 17 4 23
Nantes 15 7 2 6 14 14 0 23
Lyon 15 6 4 5 24 15 9 22
Lille 15 6 4 5 19 15 4 22
St-Étienne 15 6 4 5 16 19 -3 22
Rennes 14 6 3 5 19 16 3 21
Stade Reims 15 5 6 4 11 8 3 21
OGC Nice 15 6 2 7 20 22 -2 20
Strasbourg 15 5 3 7 16 16 0 18
Monaco 14 5 3 6 21 24 -3 18
Brest 15 4 6 5 16 19 -3 18
Amiens SC 15 4 4 7 19 28 -9 16
Metz 15 3 6 6 13 20 -7 15
Dijon FCO 15 4 3 8 9 16 -7 15
Nîmes 14 2 6 6 12 18 -6 12
Toulouse 15 3 3 9 16 29 -13 12
