Tottenham boost ahead of Manchester City as Pep Guardiola confirms ‘top boy’ is a doubt for league game.

Tottenham boost ahead of Manchester City as Pep Guardiola confirms ‘top boy’ is a doubt for league game.

Tottenham could be king makers as they face Manchester City with Arsenal hoping for a favour.
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has explained why Jack Grealish pulled out of the game against Fulham and the reason he is a doubt for the visit to Tottenham on Tuesday night.

The England international has battled injuries lately and was not in the team that beat Fulham with Guardiola persisting with the front line that beat Wolves to do the job over the weekend.

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Asked after the game what the situation of his £100m top boy was after the win against Fulham, the City boss admitted it wasn’t an injury but an illness which meant they would have to monitor the situation closely.

Guardiola told reporters: “Yes (he’s okay). He felt at the last moment not well and a little bit ill but he’s fine. We just have to keep monitoring him and see if he will be ready for the next game (Tottenham).”

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Tottenham have their own injury concerns
Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou is without two of his favourite right-left backs with Destiny Udogie and Ben Davies all injured. Over the weekend they played Oliver Skipp at left back before the Australian manager moved things around with Radu Dragusin coming on and Micky van de Ven moving to left back where he scored the winner.

Against City, they will need to get their best players firing with both James Maddison and Yves Bissouma all struggling for form at the tail end of what promised to be an exciting start to the season before the wheels came off.

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Manchester City are hoping to become the only English club to have won the Premier League four times in the role but to do that they will have to win at a ground they haven’t managed to do in the league under Guardiola.

Related topics:Pep GuardiolaManchester CityJack GrealishTottenhamFulhamEnglandWolvesJames MaddisonYves BissoumaPremier LeagueBen Davies

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Roy Keane predicts who’ll win the Premier League right after Arsenal beat Manchester United.

Roy Keane has delivered his verdict on this season’s Premier League title race between Arsenal and Manchester City.

Following Manchester City’s convincing 4-0 win at Fulham on Saturday, the pressure was on Arsenal to deliver at Old Trafford today.

Mikel Arteta’s side got the job done with a 1-0 victory thanks to Leandro Trossard’s first-half effort.

It means the title race will go right down to the final day of the season, with the Gunners currently relying on City to drop points in their final two games.

City will travel to Tottenham on Tuesday before hosting West Ham while Arsenal face a home game against Everton on Sunday. It looks as if they will be hoping for a favour from their north London rivals next week.

Now, Roy Keane has shared his thoughts on the title race following Arsenal’s win at United today.

READ MORE: David Seaman makes Premier League title prediction after Arsenal and Manchester City wins

Keane’s Premier League title prediction
Speaking on Sky Sports, Keane explained why he cannot see past City regaining the title.

“I questioned Manchester City four or five weeks ago, thinking to myself that I’m not quite sure they can do it,” the Manchester United legend said.

“But in the last few weeks I don’t know why I even doubted them. The quality and strength in their squad, players off the bench are world-class, a world-class manager in Pep, everything. They are just a machine.

“Even yesterday away to Fulham, far from an easy game and they win by four goals. You just can’t see them being stopped now.”

Keane changes mind on title race
Back in December, Keane backed Arsenal or Liverpool to capture the title over City after watching Guardiola’s men draw 3-3 with Spurs at home.

He has since switched between Arsenal and City but it would appear that he has settled on the reigning champions for the time being.

Manchester United vs Arsenal Live Premier League Here 0-0.

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Lisandro Martinez, Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford of Manchester United
Martinez, Fernandes, Rashford – Manchester United injury news and return dates ahead of Arsenal – gallery
By Rich Fay
Published 12th May 2024, 05:03 BST

The latest Man Utd injury news and expected return dates ahead of the Premier League fixture against Arsenal this weekend.

Manchester United could be boosted by the return of a number of key player for their Premier League clash with Arsenal this weekend.

Erik ten Hag’s side were ran ragged by Crystal Palace earlier in the week and know a huge improvement is required if they are to avoid defeat against a team with serious title ambitions.

There has been some positive injury news ahead of the match, after Lisandro Martinez and Marcus Rashford both returned to training earlier in the week, though it remains to be seen what roles they could play this weekend.

United will hope that Bruno Fernandes is fit enough to start after he missed his first ever club match due to injury, while Scott McTominay also failed a late fitness test ahead of the clash with Palace.

Here is all the latest injury news and possible return dates ahead of the Arsenal match…

1. Marcus Rashford – 12 May vs Arsenal (H)
Rashford has not featured in the last three matches and is another who must be carefully reintegrated into the team. It would make sense for him to start on the bench this weekend. Photo: Getty Images

2. Bruno Fernandes – 12 May vs Arsenal (H)
Fernandes missed his first ever club match through injury on Monday night and will be desperate to return this weekend even if he isn’t fully fit. Photo: Getty Images

3. Scott McTominay – 12 May vs Arsenal (H)
Ten Hag said McTominay had been in contention to play against Crystal Palace so he is expected to be back against Arsenal. Photo: Manchester United via Getty Images

4. Lisandro Martinez – 15 March vs Newcastle (H)
The Argentine defender returned to training earlier this week and is nearing a return to action. There is a temptation to throw him back in as soon as possible but his minutes must be managed carefully. Photo: Manchester United via Getty Images

1 / 3
Related topics:Team NewsBruno FernandesPremier LeagueArsenalMarcus RashfordScott McTominay
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Man City FFP: Guardiola done ‘disservice’ as ‘big update’ on hearing date emerges amid relegation claim
Will Ford 3 hours ago
Man City boss Pep Guardiola
Pep Guardiola has been done a ‘disservice’ by the FFP charges hanging over Man City.
Manchester City’s hearing over the 115 FFP charges could take place in October, according to reports.

Man City were handed 115 charges by the Premier League in February 2023 for allegedly breaching the FFP rules over a nine-year period.

‘Resolve itself in near future’
Euro 2024 is now less than 50 days away. Book your hotel with Marriott Bonvoy

Each of the 115 individual charges, dating back to 2009, will be heard by an independent panel before City are given an opportunity to appeal the final verdicts.

Premier League chief Richard Masters has insisted that the case against Man City over the alleged breaches of financial rules “will resolve itself in the near future”.

Asked whether a second City success while the charges remained outstanding would damage European league football, Masters said: “It’s not for the football authorities to start being selective about who they would like to win the league.

“The key point is that you’ve got that jeopardy until the final day. Who knows where we will be on May 19?”

Masters, speaking at the European Leagues general assembly, added: “Obviously we can’t comment on the case, the date has been set and the case will resolve itself at some point in the near future, and I cannot make any further comment on it.”

MORE ON MAN CITY’S 115 FFP CHARGES ON F365
👉 Man City ‘unlikely to succeed’ in appeal against 115 charges after Nottingham Forest verdict
👉 Man City FFP: Prem told to make hearing public as ‘expulsion’ is a ‘genuine possibility’
👉 Man City FFP: Guardiola ‘will quit’ as City ‘could be relegated to the Championship’ after ‘big update’

Case heard in October?
Described by Football Inside as a ‘big update’, senior correspondent Pete O’Rourke believes the case could be heard in October, though it’s unlikely to be resolved before the end of next season due to the number of charges and the likelihood of a Manchester City appeal as their lawyers remain adamant they’ve done nothing wrong.

That’s despite sources telling Football Insider last week that future appeals are “unlikely to succeed” on the back of Forest’s unsuccessful appeal.

It was claimed last month that Man City ‘are unlikely to be relegated to League Two but could be demoted to the Championship due to issues surrounding the integrity of the league following the 115 charges aimed at them’.

O’Rourke admitted the charges looming over the Citizens have done Pep Guardiola and his players a “disservice” as he believes they have been one of the greatest sides to play in the Premier League.

Manchester City
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I helped start the Man City project and still watch the 2007/08 DVD – I really regret leaving
Elano only spent two seasons at Manchester City but he earnt the affection of supporters

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The very moment Elano Blumer’s right leg swung forward, boot cutting across the iconic Nike Total 90 ball placed 25 yards from goal, everyone inside the City of Manchester Stadium knew what the outcome was going to be.

It takes something special to change the mindset of a long-suffering fanbase, one that has come to accept its fate of turgid football, inevitable let-downs and lower-table malaise. Nothing exciting happened at Manchester City, particularly in 2007.

The 2006/07 season was a case of same-old for City. The optimism and positivity that slowly built throughout the previous year of Stuart Pearce’s management evaporated, as did any suggestion that City could score a goal. The Blues scored just 10 at home all season, 29 in all. It felt like the words ‘City’ and ‘entertainment’ didn’t belong in the same language, never mind the same sentence.

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The summer of 2007 brought chaos and change in equal measure. The former Prime Minister of Thailand, Thaksin Shinawatra, saved City from the very real threat of bankruptcy when he bought the club, and he didn’t waste any time in injecting much-needed funds into his project.

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Former England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson was convinced to join by the promise of investment in the playing squad, and that’s exactly what he got. The eight new players who came in were, in truth, pretty hit-and-miss, but one still manages to hold a place in City hearts despite only staying in Manchester for two years.

City were not in the business of signing Brazilian midfielders, but when they decided that they were, they did it well. Two weeks after the Blues announced the signing of Geovanni – ultimately a failed signing even if he did score the winner in his one and only Manchester derby appearance – Elano arrived.

Aside from players of Football Manager, few had heard of the midfielder before City paid Shakhtar Donetsk £8million for his services. The Brazilian did put on something of an audition a year earlier when he starred in Brazil’s 3-0 defeat of Argentina at Wembley, but it wasn’t like clubs were scrabbling around for his signature.

“Around that time there was some speculation from other clubs, but the only bid came from Man City and from that moment I was always set on joining the club,” Elano later said.

“It was an exciting time to come and sign for the club because I knew I was joining something special and I was confident I could help the club grow. I took great pride in bringing back some happiness for Manchester City fans.”

He certainly did that. An assist on his Premier League debut got things off to a good start, a surging run forward and an accurate cross to set up Rolando Bianchi in a 2-0 win at West Ham. Four more assists followed in the next six games and Elano and City were flying.

A team assembled in barely a month were fifth in the table by the time matchday eight came around, something unthinkable just a few weeks earlier. Newcastle United – a team City tended to struggle against – were up next, and it was in the 87th minute of the match that Elano scored his first City goal.

City were leading 2-1 when they were awarded a free-kick 25 yards from goal. With only minutes left the sensible thing to do would have been to keep the ball, but Elano – stood nonchalantly with hands on hips – had other ideas. He wanted to entertain, and so he cracked the ball with such power, dip and accuracy that Shay Given in the Newcastle goal didn’t stand a chance.

It was an incredible strike, one that while not that significant in the wider scheme of things, ensured he quickly became a fans’ favourite at Eastlands.

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“It was a very special moment and I was at the top of my form,” Elano recalled in an interview with CityTV in 2016. “Sometimes even now I replay it and watch it through on a DVD of that season. I play it because I miss it. It was really good to live in Manchester and play for City.”

That season Elano fitted in seamlessly as City enjoyed one of their best seasons in a long time, doing the double over Manchester United and qualifying for the UEFA Cup via the UEFA Fair Play rankings. The on-field understanding he developed with the likes of Michael Johnson and Martin Petrov helped him to contribute eight goals and eight assists in 34 league outings, but Elano claimed that the role manager Eriksson played was most important.

“He was the most important person for me in English football – someone who allowed me to play with freedom. Above all else, he was a gentleman,” Elano said.

The way in which Eriksson described his midfielder during an interview back in 2007/08 showed the affection was mutual.

“He sees things very quickly. Sometimes you wonder if he has eyes in the back of his head. It’s the one gift that some footballers have and some will never have no matter how much they train,” Eriksson said.

Unfortunately for Elano he would only work with the Swede for one season. Shinawatra and the manager did not see eye-to-eye on how the club should try to grow, the former demanding instant success. Shortly after the infamous 8-1 defeat to Middlesbrough on the final day of the season, Eriksson was sacked despite protests from players and fans, and before long Shinawatra was gone too.

Investigations by Thai authorities into alleged corruption resulted in the freezing of his assets, meaning that City had no funds. On September 1, Sheikh Mansour completed his takeover of the club, and later on transfer deadline day, the Blues completed the signing of Robinho for a then-British record transfer fee.

Robinho was a good friend of Elano’s and improved City that year, but there’s no denying that his arrival diminished the importance of Elano’s role in the team. His minutes reduced and his form became inconsistent, and as the campaign neared its conclusion it became clear that he would be deemed surplus to requirements.

In 2009 Elano was sold to Turkish giants Galatasaray, 18 months before returning to Santos in Brazil. Players that don’t live up to their potential don’t usually leave a good impression at a club, but with Elano that couldn’t be further from the truth.

“I sensed the fans loved me, but do you know why? Because I wasn’t a private player,” he told FourFourTwo. “I walked in the streets, went shopping and spent spare time in cafes. I felt like one of them and really liked living there.

“I remember going for a meal with Geovanni after beating Manchester United, and being greeted with a song by fans in the restaurant! That’s the sort of thing I miss the most about living in England.”

His eldest daughter studied in Manchester while his other daughter – Clara – was born at St Mary’s Hospital just south of the city centre. To this day the Brazilian has friends in the city. Manchester clearly holds a special place in his heart, but it works the other way too.

“I regret leaving City… we started this current project. We showed how City were big and had incredible potential,” he said. However, more important than how Elano helped to change City’s image was how he helped City fans; he reminded them how to enjoy football.

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