When the national team break day approached a week ago, the big teams were wary of the ferocious FIFA virus, and the blackboard in the Real Madrid dressing room read: The national team match is only a friendly match, don't get hurt.
Manchester City's devil's schedule
But the house leak happened to rain overnight, and the bad luck was looking for the miserable, and when Manchester City's devil's schedule was approaching, three generals were injured in a row!
Manchester City will face this season's battle of the Kings on March 31 and April 10 - the Premier League hosts leaders Arsenal, the Champions League travels away to European giants Real Madrid, and the Premier League fourth-placed Aston Villa in between, these two games will directly determine the success or failure of Manchester City's season:
The situation in the Premier League standings
Premier League Arsenal and Liverpool are one point ahead of Manchester City, and the direct meeting between Arsenal and Manchester City will directly determine the title of this match, and Liverpool may also benefit from the draw between the two teams.
The away game against Real Madrid is simply an early stage of the Champions League final, and the winners of the two seasons have won the Champions League that year, and the winner of this game may also become the new king of Europe this season.
Just when the Manchester City boss was worried about the devil's schedule for the next half month, what worried him the most happened:
Manchester City's backline has suffered three injuries in a row: Walker, John Stones and Akanji.
Although Walker is over 30 years old, he is the only key figure in Manchester City's backline who can prevent the opponent's explosive point, and Arsenal's Martinez and Real Madrid's Vinicius Jr. will rely on Walker to limit him, which is an indispensable key part of Pep Guardiola's backline. The shocking reversal of the Bernabeu in 2022 occurred after Walker went off the field due to injury, and Vinicius completely let go and dominated Real Madrid's Jedi counterattack.
Stones has been honed by Pep Guardiola and has become a versatile and winning trick for the team: he is a stalwart at the back when defending, and he can be a metronome and passer in midfield when he moves forward in attack, and his versatility is irreplaceable at Manchester City at the moment.
Akanji's excellent defensive form has become an indispensable barrier for Manchester City since his move from Borussia Dortmund, and his injury could lead to a wide opening of the door at the back of the City defence due to the attacking firepower of Arsenal and Real Madrid.
A family portrait of Manchester City's 22-man squad at the start of the season
After the start of this season, Manchester City's first-team squad includes 3 goalkeepers and 22 players, and after entering the impact stage of the season, Manchester City, which is already thin but has to fight in the third line, cannot afford to lose injuries, but Guardiola, as a world famous coach, believes that he can find a way to deal with it, after all, Manchester City has giants like Gvardiol and Ake on the bench at any time.