Manchester City will hit the road to take on Everton on Sunday and Pep Guardiola has hinted that Nathan Ake could be available for selection on Sunday.
Ake has been struggling with a hamstring injury over the previous few weeks and he also missed the trip to Madrid last week. Thankfully, he’s very close to full fitness and will go through a late fitness test to determine his availability for the Goodison Park encounter.
Pep told the press, as per the club’s official website: “I think he’s[Nathan Ake] much better but I don’t know.
“Today we finally had a day off. Now we have training in a few hours and we will see.”
Ake has been a really influential figure in defence for Man City in the second half of the season so his return will be a big boost for the manager but we don’t think the 28-year-old will play any part this weekend.
It is very evident that Erling Haaland will be rested keeping the 2nd leg vs Madrid in mind and for this same reason, Nathan Ake won’t be risked either.
Erling Haaland was completely impactless in the first leg but the Norwegian international will be key to unlocking Madrid’s defence next week which is why he will be wrapped in cotton this weekend.
After Joao Cancelo’s exit, Ake has been marshalling the left-hand side of defence with great success which is why Guardiola would prefer to use Ayemric Laporte in that role, thereby protecting both Ake and Akanji.
Manuel Akanji did an ok job as the left-sided central defender but Ake is much more adept in that position. Everton are currently 17th on the table and have scored only 32 league goals so their attackers won’t pose too much of a threat to Man City’s back line.
This is why risking Ake doesn’t make sense.
Guardiola will much rather give the defender a few more days to bump up his fitness before Real Madrid land in England for the semi-final showdown.
Erling Haaland and Nathan Ake will both be on the bench on Sunday and while the striker could get a few minutes towards the end of the match(if needed), the full-back won’t come on.
