Manchester City travel to St James’ Park to face Newcastle United in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon but will have to do it without Ferran Torres. The 21-year-old fractured his foot in mid-October and is still out of action.
Pep Guardiola revealed in Friday’s pre-match press conference that the 21-year-old will be “missing” over the weekend. He said: “Everyone is fit, it’s just Ferran (Torres) missing. We will travel to Newcastle with everyone ready to play.”
Torres has made seven appearances in competitions this season, scoring three goals with one assist. The Spanish international hasn’t featured for two months, however, so his ongoing absence isn’t hurting City too badly.
Raheem Sterling boasts five goals with two assists from his last 10 games across the board, plus City put seven goals past Leeds on Tuesday without Torres, so the Sky Blues will feel they have enough firepower to put Newcastle to the sword.
Phil Foden led the line against Leeds and got on the scoresheet. Jack Grealish and Riyad Mahrez also netted in the game. City have in fact scored two or more goals in nine of their last 11, so they’re coping well in Torres’ absence.
And when the 21-year-old does recover from his foot fracture, there will be speculation about his long-term future at the Etihad Stadium amid interest from Barcelona. Torres is considering his options and would jump at the chance to join the Catalans, so time will tell how that story ends up.
In other news, some fans say ‘excellent’ Man City forward was ‘immense’ against Leeds