Manchester City welcome Newcastle United to the Etihad Stadium on Sunday afternoon, but Pep Guardiola could be without Kyle Walker after the 31-year-old picked up an injury in Wednesday’s Champions League defeat to Real Madrid.
Walker is a major doubt going into Sunday’s class, so Guardiola might have to replace him. The obvious option would be to switch Joao Cancelo to right-back, but that will leave a void to fill at left-back. Oleksandr Zinchenko replaced Walker against Real and should get the nod against Newcastle as a result.
The 25-year-old has made 24 appearances in all competitions this season, grabbing three assists. While not a regular starter in the Premier League, Zinchenko has featured in each of City’s last three league outings, so it makes sense to have some continuity.
City are top of the table with 83 points from 34 games, one point ahead of Liverpool. The Sky Blues are coming off the back of three consecutive wins and will seal the title with a perfect finish to the season.
Guardiola’s men will be disappointed from their Champions League exit in midweek but can’t afford to dwell on the result as they still have plenty to play for.
In other news, ‘highly-rated’ 19 y/o could get ‘more game time’ at Man City next season