Manchester City went down to a 2-1 defeat against Tottenham at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last night. The loss saw Pep Guardiola’s side bow out of the Carabao Cup in the fourth round of the competition. In the scheme of City’s season, the result wasn’t that important. But the fact that City’s injury list grew was the bigger story to arise out of last night’s match. But looking forward to how City’s next three games how they navigate the challenge ahead could set up their season given the circumstances they will be faced with over the next week.
Manchester City went into last night’s match with six first-team players unavailable. Rodri, Oscar Bobb, Kyle Walker, Kevin De Bruyne, Jack Grealish and Jeremy Doku are all out with injuries. Come the final whistle three more players joined them. Savinho, Manuel Akanji and Josko Gvardiol all finished last night’s match with injury issues. The severity of their injuries is unknown at this time. Pep Guardiola told the media that Ruben Dias is also struggling with his fitness at the moment. It does feel that Manchester City have gone from a tipping point with their injury crisis to almost tipping over. But in the face of adversity comes a new challenge for the world champions.
City have three tough away games to come. This Saturday they face Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium. They then travel to Portugal to take on Sporting in the UEFA Champions League and that game is followed by a trip to the Amex to face Brighton in Premier League action. All three games are tough propositions in their own right. The fact that City will travel three times in a week with a host of key players out makes them that much more difficult. But if the champions can successfully navigate all three games it could set their season up. If they drop points over the next week it won’t be devastating to City’s chase for silverware. Far from it. But if they can take points from all three games it could grow Manchester City’s belief for the challenges that lie ahead. That’s the challenge ahead of Manchester City over their next three games.
Manchester City are down to their bare bones in terms of squad depth. But injuries happen in football that’s the nature of the game. But if Pep Guardiola’s side can successfully navigate their next three games well it could set them up well for when the cavalry returns. That’s the challenge for the remaining fit players in the world champions squad.
