Explanations for the respective absences of Manchester City pair Kyle Walker and Rodri from the club’s matchday squad to face Leicester City have been provided this afternoon.
Citizens cruising
Pep Guardiola’s men are of course currently locked in action.
As part of a jam-packed Boxing Day fixture list in the Premier League, the Sky Blues have welcomed the aforementioned Leicester to the Etihad, keen to extend their advantage atop the English top-flight to a full six points.
And, as things stand in Manchester on Sunday, City look well on their way towards precisely that.
A rampant opening quarter of an hour sees Guardiola and co. in possession of a 2-0 advantage, owing to strikes on the part of both Kevin De Bruyne and Riyad Mahrez.
14. After a lengthy VAR check, @Mahrez22 smashes home from the spot!@Laporte was pulled down in the box during a corner.
🔵 2-0 🦊 #ManCity
— Manchester City (@ManCity) December 26, 2021
*Update* – Ilkay Gundogan has since made it 3-0.
Absences explained
City’s flying start up against Leicester, though, as alluded to above, has come without the services of two key members of Pep Guardiola’s ranks.
The players in question? Kyle Walker and Rodri.
Of course, owing to the concerning Covid-19 situation in the Premier League at present, concerns quickly spread for the Sky Blues pair, amid the assumption that both had likely returned positive Covid tests over the last couple of days.
Such fears, however, have since been quelled.
As confirmed in a post on Manchester City’s official website, neither Walker nor Rodri are ‘fully fit’, with risks, in turn, having not been taken on either player to feature against Leicester.
— Manchester City (@ManCity) December 26, 2021
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Premier League table
# | Team | MP | D | P |
1 | Manchester City | 18 | 35 | 44 |
2 | Liverpool FC | 18 | 35 | 41 |
3 | Chelsea FC | 18 | 27 | 38 |
4 | Arsenal FC | 18 | 4 | 32 |
5 | West Ham United | 17 | 7 | 28 |
6 | Manchester United | 16 | 2 | 27 |
7 | Tottenham Hotspur | 15 | -1 | 26 |
8 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 18 | -1 | 25 |
9 | Leicester City | 16 | 22 | |
10 | Aston Villa | 17 | -2 | 22 |
11 | Crystal Palace | 17 | 20 | |
12 | Brentford FC | 16 | -1 | 20 |
13 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 16 | -3 | 20 |
14 | Everton FC | 17 | -8 | 19 |
15 | Southampton FC | 17 | -10 | 17 |
16 | Leeds United | 18 | -18 | 16 |
17 | Watford FC | 16 | -10 | 13 |
18 | Burnley FC | 15 | -7 | 11 |
19 | Newcastle United | 18 | -23 | 10 |
20 | Norwich City | 17 | -26 | 10 |
Player | Team | Goals |
---|---|---|
Salah, Mohamed | Liverpool FC | 15 |
Jota, Diogo | Liverpool FC | 10 |
Vardy, Jamie | Leicester City | 9 |
Raphinha | Leeds United | 8 |
Dennis, Emmanuel | Watford FC | 7 |
Mount, Mason | Chelsea FC | 7 |
Ronaldo, Cristiano | Manchester United | 7 |
Son, Heung Min | Tottenham Hotspur | 7 |
Smith-Rowe, Emile | Arsenal FC | 7 |
Mane, Sadio | Liverpool FC | 7 |
Silva, Bernardo | Manchester City | 7 |
Antonio, Michail | West Ham United | 6 |
Gallagher, Conor | Crystal Palace | 6 |
Wilson, Callum | Newcastle United | 6 |
Maupay, Neal | Brighton & Hove Albion | 6 |
Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United | 5 |
King, Joshua | Watford FC | 5 |
Gray, Demarai | Everton FC | 5 |
Zaha, Wilfried | Crystal Palace | 5 |
Sterling, Raheem | Manchester City | 5 |
Player | Team | Red Cards | Yellow Cards |
---|---|---|---|
Dennis, Emmanuel | Watford FC | 6 | |
Neves, Ruben | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 6 | |
Laporte, Aymeric | Manchester City | 1 | 5 |
Salisu, Mohammed | Southampton FC | 6 | |
James, Reece | Chelsea FC | 1 | 4 |
Pogba, Paul | Manchester United | 1 | 4 |
Robertson, Andy | Liverpool FC | 1 | 4 |
Cancelo, Joao | Manchester City | 5 | |
Canos, Sergi | Brentford FC | 5 | |
Richarlison | Everton FC | 5 | |
Ritchie, Matt | Newcastle United | 5 | |
Westwood, Ashley | Burnley FC | 5 | |
Tarkowski, James | Burnley FC | 5 | |
Duffy, Shane | Brighton & Hove Albion | 5 | |
Lascelles, Jamaal | Newcastle United | 5 | |
Hayden, Isaac | Newcastle United | 5 | |
Bissouma, Yves | Brighton & Hove Albion | 5 | |
Firpo, Junior | Leeds United | 5 | |
Ward, Joel | Crystal Palace | 5 | |
Romeu, Oriol | Southampton FC | 5 |
Player | Team | Assists |
---|---|---|
Salah, Mohamed | Liverpool FC | 8 |
Alexander-Arnold, Trent | Liverpool FC | 8 |
Jesus, Gabriel | Manchester City | 7 |
Pogba, Paul | Manchester United | 7 |
Dennis, Emmanuel | Watford FC | 5 |
James, Reece | Chelsea FC | 5 |
Kovacic, Mateo | Chelsea FC | 5 |
Robertson, Andy | Liverpool FC | 5 |
Mount, Mason | Chelsea FC | 4 |
Bowen, Jarrod | West Ham United | 4 |
Saka, Bukayo | Arsenal FC | 4 |
Doucoure, Abdoulaye | Everton FC | 4 |
Cancelo, Joao | Manchester City | 4 |
Redmond, Nathan | Southampton FC | 4 |
Antonio, Michail | West Ham United | 3 |
Gallagher, Conor | Crystal Palace | 3 |
Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United | 3 |
Mahrez, Riyad | Manchester City | 3 |
Maddison, James | Leicester City | 3 |
Foden, Phil | Manchester City | 3 |