As Manchester City gear up for their visit to Carrow Road on Saturday, the Citizens will have to prepare themselves to face Norwich City without their midfield general Yaya Toure.
The Ivorian has been a constant in the heart of the City midfield ever since his transfer to the Etihad from FC Barcelona, and his absence is sure to be keenly felt by Manuel Pellegrini’s side.
“This week Yaya Toure has a problem in his heel – same as Liverpool. Yaya is out,” the Manchester City manager was quoted as saying by the club’s official website. “We’ll see how he improves next week. We don’t know (about Kyiv) yet.”
While the Manchester City fans will be saddened by the news of Toure’s injury, there is also some good news on the horizon. The trio of Samir Nasri (hamstring), Kevin De Bruyne (knee), and Fabian Delph (achilles) could be ready to return to action after the international break later this month.
“The same three players – Nasri, Delph and De Bruyne are out and expected back after the internationals,” said Pellegrini. “It’s important to have the players back. I hope that after the international break they will be fit for the rest of the season and that can be very important.”
Fully fit Manchester City can do a lot of damage
A fully fit Manchester City side have the capability of challenging on all fronts, while rotating their starting lineup for different competitions. They have enough quality — even among their second-choice players — to get good results against decent sides. The rotation policy also ensures that the players are well rested for every game.
With a host of important matches coming up for them after the international break, Manchester City will certainly need to use the full depth of their squad. While the Premier League title seems elusive at present, with the Citizens trailing league leaders Leicester City by 10 points, Pellegrini’s side already have one foot in the Champions League quarter-finals.
Having a full-strength squad will be absolutely necessary if City are to continue challenging on both fronts till the end of the season.
