Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola said on Friday he believes the upcoming World Cup is in players’ minds as they try to avoid injury amidst a congested schedule for their clubs. Guardiola confirmed that England duo Kyle Walker and Kalvin Phillips are unlikely to play for the Premier League champions again before the break for the World Cup next month as they battle to fit in time to be selected by Gareth Southgate.
Manchester United’s Raphael Varane left the field in tears when the France centre-back suffered a muscle injury against Chelsea last week. The majority of Premier League clubs playing in Europe are in the middle of a run of 13 games in a maximum of 42 days.
“I am pretty sure they have one eye on the World Cup,” said Guardiola at his pre-match press conference ahead of City’s trip to Leicester. “Unfortunately many players got injured and will miss the World Cup. It’s a big blow for them. Now it is just two or three weeks before the end, so it is the last effort. I always say the best way to not get injured is to be focused and give your maximum in the game. When you lose the attention is when you are at risk.”
Erling Haaland is not going to Qatar as Norway failed to qualify, but is nursing a foot injury. Haaland came off at half-time of City’s 0-0 draw against Borussia Dortmund in midweek, but Guardiola refused to confirm whether the Premier League’s top goalscorer will be fit to face the Foxes. “He feels better,” added Guardiola. “We have training this afternoon and we’ll assess him in a few hours.”
Klopp seeks to realise ‘incredible’ Nunez potential
Liverpool have only seen a glimpse of what Darwin Nunez is capable of, manager Jurgen Klopp said, as he seeks to maximise the potential of the 23-year-old striker. Nunez, who cost the Reds an initial 75mn from Benfica in June, has had an erratic start to his career at Anfield.
The Uruguayan was sent off on his home debut for a headbutt on Crystal Palace defender Joachim Andersen. There have also been a series of high-profile missed chances, but he is finding his range with four goals in his last five appearances.
“He’s had a really good month,” said Klopp at his pre-match press conference ahead of Liverpool’s clash with Leeds. “The potential is incredible. It’s not just the speed, the attitude is really good. He’s a real worker and again, I tell you, I know there are people out there who think ‘technically, not sure about his first touch - it is incredible. That he doesn’t bring it always into the pitch right now is nothing to do with technique. It’s a bit of awareness, orientation, but that is all possible to develop and learn. It’s really exciting.”
Nunez was on target as Liverpool cruised into the last 16 of the Champions League with a game to spare with a 3-0 win at Ajax in midweek.
However, Klopp’s men have won just four of their first 11 Premier League games to fall 12 points off the pace at the top of the table.
Victories over Manchester City and West Ham had appeared to get Liverpool back on track after a slow start to the campaign, but that momentum was lost in a 1-0 defeat to bottom-of-the-table Nottingham Forest last weekend. And Klopp stressed the need for his side to give themselves something to fight for in the second half of the season after the upcoming World Cup break.
“Around the Nottingham game we had quite a few reasons to be positive, but we cannot ignore the Nottingham game,” he added. “We have to create a basis for the time after (the World Cup) and we have to do that with the three games in the league which are all difficult.”
Fixtures (all times GMT)
Today: Leicester v Manchester City (1130), Newcastle v Aston Villa, Crystal Palace v Southampton, Brighton v Chelsea, Bournemouth v Tottenham, Brentford v Wolves (all 1400), Fulham v Everton (1630), Liverpool v Leeds (1845)
Tomorrow: Arsenal v Nottingham Forest (1300), Manchester United v West Ham (1515)
Pep Guardiola
