Aguero out for Manchester City vs. Tottenham

Manchester City will be without striker Sergio Aguero for this Saturday’s match against “the Harry Kane team,” with manager Pep Guardiola not sure if and when he will play for City again this season.

Aguero was injured in the Manchester Derby loss this weekend after a tackle by Manchester United’s Ashley Young, and Guardiola has ruled him out of playing against Spurs. Guardiola confirmed it in a pre-match press conference.

“I don’t know. We cannot forget he was one month injured. He made a huge effort because after the action from Ashley Young against United [a second half tackle] with the problem with his knee, he could not train.

“He played the last 20 minutes [against Liverpool] and after the game said: ‘I cannot run, I have a lot of pain, I cannot run.’ I don’t know about Swansea [City, on Sunday-week] if he’ll be ready but hopefully for the last games if we need him and especially for the World Cup.”

Aguero isn’t the only player who will miss the match against Spurs. Guardiola also noted that John Stones is still recovering from a thigh issue, Benjamin Mendy is out with an ACL injury, and midfielder Fernandinho is suspended for yellow card accumulation. City are also on a three-match losing streak in all competitions.

None of that means that City aren’t an exceptionally dangerous team, and after crashing out of the Champions League to Liverpool and suffering a loss to United last week, Guardiola will want to get that monkey off his back. A win at Tottenham Hotspur would probably serve him just fine.

On the other hand, this is another opportunity for Tottenham to pick up a signature win. The “magic number” for Spurs to secure a top four finish stands at eight points with six games remaining. With a ten point lead over Chelsea in fifth, a game in hand against Liverpool, and a favorable run-in, they don’t NEED to beat City to qualify for the Champions League next season. But it certainly would be nice.