Kevin de Bruyne may be ready to play in Sunday’s crucial match between Manchester City and Arsenal, according to Pep Guardiola.
Even at this early point in the season, the meeting between the Citizens and Gunners at the Etihad is expected to have a significant impact on the Premier League title battle.
Although Martin Odegaard, the captain of Arsenal, will be out for the next eight weeks due to injury, City also had a scare earlier this week.
During Wednesday night’s Champions League tie against Inter Milan, De Bruyne took a knock and had to be replaced at halftime.
The important attacking midfield player was expected to miss Arsenal’s match, but Guardiola has since hinted that he might be available.
He feels marginally better today, but not quite. Days off, training tomorrow, and we’ll see,’ the manager stated on Friday at the team’s pregame press conference.
“He might be [engaged].”
Ilkay Gundogan, who replaced De Bruyne in the goalless draw with Inter, would appear to be De Bruyne’s most likely substitute in the starting lineup should he not be ready to start or even make the bench.
In other injury news, Nathan Ake and Oscar Bobb are still out with chronic problems.
City leads Arsenal by two points in the standings after winning their first four league games. They will also have an advantage coming into Sunday’s match because they have had an extra game to prepare.
The Gunners’ Champions League season began on Thursday night away from home against Atalanta, ending in a 0-0 tie.
Guardiola acknowledges that Man City has an advantage.
However, I’m going to compile a list of all the instances over the past eight years when we faced formidable opponents and were at a disadvantage due to a lack of recovery days. I want to show you this enormous list!