Last Updated: March 13, 2021 7:22 pm
Manchester City have this evening provided an explanation for the absence of Raheem Sterling from the club’s matchday squad to take on Fulham.
London showdown
Pep Guardiola’s men are set to return to action shortly, in Saturday’s final Premier League fixture.
The table-topping Sky Blues will make the trip to Fulham, aiming to extend their advantage over Manchester United to a hefty 17 points, ahead of the Reds’ meeting with West Ham tomorrow night.
Fulham, though, will prove no pushovers.
The Cottagers are currently at the heart of a tense battle against the drop, sitting 18th in the Premier League table.
A fine recent spell of form, though, sees Scott Parker’s men locked on points with Brighton, in the knowledge that a shock victory this evening would guide them clear of both the Seagulls, and Newcastle, into 16th.
LONDON, ENGLAND – MARCH 03: Scott Parker, manager of Fulham during the Premier League match between Fulham FC and Chelsea FC at Craven Cottage on March 03, 2019 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)
Sterling misses out
And Fulham’s hopes of climbing out of the bottom-three, a short time ago, were dealt a boost, by none other than their upcoming opponents.
This comes with Pep Guardiola having opted to heavily rotate his squad, on the back of the Citizens’ midweek win over Southampton.
The Spaniard has opted for no fewer than seven changes to his starting XI, with the likes of Kevin De Bruyne, Riyad Mahrez and Ilkay Gundogan all benched.
The main talking point when it comes to City personnel this evening, though, undoubtedly comes in the form of Raheem Sterling’s complete omission from the club’s matchday squad:
How we line up at Craven Cottage 👇
XI | Ederson, Cancelo, Stones, Dias, Laporte, Mendy, Rodrigo, Bernardo, Torres, Jesus, Aguero (C)
SUBS | Steffen, Walker, Gundogan, Zinchenko, De Bruyne, Fernandinho, Mahrez, Foden, Garcia
📋 @HaysWorldwide
🔷 #ManCity pic.twitter.com/jHNbKLWlxe— Manchester City (@ManCity) March 13, 2021
In turn, the soon-to-be champions have since moved to provide an explanation for the absence of their star wide-man, confirming that, amid a hectic fixture list, Sterling has simply been ‘rested’.
A closer look at the line up 🧐https://t.co/owVsEfz2LX
— Manchester City (@ManCity) March 13, 2021
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Premier League table
| # | Team | MP | D | P |
| 1 | Manchester City FC | 29 | 40 | 68 |
| 2 | Manchester United FC | 28 | 23 | 54 |
| 3 | Leicester City FC | 28 | 16 | 53 |
| 4 | Chelsea FC | 29 | 19 | 51 |
| 5 | West Ham United FC | 27 | 11 | 48 |
| 6 | Everton FC | 27 | 4 | 46 |
| 7 | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 27 | 18 | 45 |
| 8 | Liverpool FC | 28 | 11 | 43 |
| 9 | Aston Villa FC | 27 | 11 | 41 |
| 10 | Arsenal FC | 27 | 7 | 38 |
| 11 | Leeds United | 28 | -3 | 36 |
| 12 | Wolverhampton Wanderers FC | 28 | -9 | 35 |
| 13 | Crystal Palace FC | 28 | -17 | 34 |
| 14 | Southampton FC | 28 | -14 | 33 |
| 15 | Burnley FC | 28 | -16 | 30 |
| 16 | Newcastle United FC | 28 | -17 | 28 |
| 17 | Brighton & Hove Albion FC | 27 | -8 | 26 |
| 18 | Fulham FC | 28 | -11 | 26 |
| 19 | West Bromwich Albion | 28 | -36 | 18 |
| 20 | Sheffield United FC | 28 | -29 | 14 |
| Player | Team | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| Salah, Mohamed | Liverpool FC | 17 |
| Kane, Harry | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 16 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United FC | 16 |
| Calvert-Lewin, Dominic | Everton FC | 14 |
| Son, Heung Min | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 13 |
| Bamford, Patrick | Leeds United | 13 |
| Vardy, Jamie | Leicester City FC | 12 |
| Gundogan, Ilkay | Manchester City FC | 12 |
| Wilson, Callum | Newcastle United FC | 10 |
| Watkins, Ollie | Aston Villa FC | 10 |
| Rashford, Marcus | Manchester United FC | 9 |
| Sterling, Raheem | Manchester City FC | 9 |
| Mahrez, Riyad | Manchester City FC | 9 |
| Barnes, Harvey | Leicester City FC | 9 |
| Zaha, Wilfried | Crystal Palace FC | 9 |
| Lacazette, Alexandre | Arsenal FC | 9 |
| Aubameyang, Pierre-Emerick | Arsenal FC | 9 |
| Maddison, James | Leicester City FC | 8 |
| Ings, Danny | Southampton FC | 8 |
| Soucek, Tomas | West Ham United FC | 8 |
| Player | Team | Red Cards | Yellow Cards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gallagher, Conor | West Bromwich Albion | 0 | 8 |
| Maguire, Harry | Manchester United FC | 0 | 8 |
| Bellerin, Hector | Arsenal FC | 0 | 8 |
| Milivojevic, Luka | Crystal Palace FC | 1 | 7 |
| Hayden, Isaac | Newcastle United FC | 0 | 8 |
| Lundstram, John | Sheffield United FC | 1 | 6 |
| Evans, Jonny | Leicester City FC | 0 | 7 |
| Egan, John | Sheffield United FC | 1 | 6 |
| Bissouma, Yves | Brighton & Hove Albion FC | 1 | 6 |
| Grealish, Jack | Aston Villa FC | 0 | 6 |
| Tielemans, Youri | Leicester City FC | 0 | 6 |
| Shaw, Luke | Manchester United FC | 0 | 6 |
| Klich, Mateusz | Leeds United | 0 | 6 |
| Doucoure, Abdoulaye | Everton FC | 0 | 6 |
| McGinn, John | Aston Villa FC | 0 | 6 |
| Hojbjerg, Pierre | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 0 | 6 |
| Westwood, Ashley | Burnley FC | 0 | 6 |
| Xhaka, Granit | Arsenal FC | 1 | 5 |
| Romeu, Oriol | Southampton FC | 0 | 6 |
| Kante, N`Golo | Chelsea FC | 0 | 6 |
| Player | Team | Assists |
|---|---|---|
| Kane, Harry | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 13 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United FC | 10 |
| Grealish, Jack | Aston Villa FC | 10 |
| De Bruyne, Kevin | Manchester City FC | 10 |
| Son, Heung Min | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 9 |
| Rashford, Marcus | Manchester United FC | 7 |
| Cresswell, Aaron | West Ham United FC | 7 |
| Digne, Lucas | Everton FC | 6 |
| Sterling, Raheem | Manchester City FC | 5 |
| Maddison, James | Leicester City FC | 5 |
| Ward-Prowse, James | Southampton FC | 5 |
| Firmino, Roberto | Liverpool FC | 5 |
| Foden, Phil | Manchester City FC | 5 |
| Werner, Timo | Chelsea FC | 5 |
| Raphinha | Leeds United | 5 |
| Neto, Pedro | Wolverhampton Wanderers FC | 5 |
| Shaw, Luke | Manchester United FC | 5 |
| Robertson, Andrew | Liverpool FC | 5 |
| Willian | Arsenal FC | 5 |
| Bamford, Patrick | Leeds United | 4 |
Source: 101greatgoals.com
