Jack Grealish could be available for Manchester City’s clash with Sheffield United on Saturday after nobody was harmed during a burglary at his house.
Raiders targeted the England midfielder’s Cheshire home while he was playing for treble winners City at Everton on Wednesday night.
Members of his family and his fiancee, Sasha Atwood, were at the property at the time when they heard a disturbance and raised the alarm.
It has been reported the thieves made off with £1million worth of jewellery and watches and police are now investigating.
A spokeswoman for Cheshire Constabulary said: “At around 9.50pm on Wednesday 27 December police were called to reports of a burglary. The caller reported that a number of items had been stolen.”
City manager Pep Guardiola has expressed his relief that nobody was hurt.
Speaking at a press conference, Guardiola said: “Fortunately nothing wrong happened where the family was inside.
“It is what it is today in the modern day, with many things happening. It was a bad moment for him and his family but, fortunately, what was not damaged were the people inside.”
City will again be without striker Erling Haaland and playmaker Kevin De Bruyne as they take on the struggling Blades, with defender John Stones the latest addition to the injury list.
Haaland has still not returned to full training after six games out with a foot injury and the game is too soon for De Bruyne as he nears a comeback.
Stones hobbled off at Goodison Park in midweek with an ankle injury and faces a short spell on the sidelines.
“Nothing has changed,” said Guardiola when asked about player availability. “We have the same injuries plus John Stones.”
The Blades are bottom of the table having found the going tough back in the top flight since their promotion last season, but they have produced some encouraging performances since Chris Wilder returned as manager.
Guardiola, whose side’s 3-1 win at Everton was their first in seven Premier League games, anticipates a difficult afternoon.
He said: “Always in the past, we’ve had problems against Sheffield.
“They made an incredible performance against Aston Villa. They were close to winning the game.
“It will be so so tough – a bit like Crystal Palace. In the last games at home we couldn’t get results, in terms of victories, so we will try to be focused on what we have to do.”
The game will be City’s last of 2023, a year in which they won the Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup, European Super Cup and Club World Cup.
Asked to sum up the past 12 months, Guardiola said with some understatement: “Not bad at all. Not bad. Could be better – always – but don’t be greedy too much. It was really good.”
Nashville SC v San Jose Earthquakes: ‘A win would change everything’ - Godoy
Anibal Godoy insists that Nashville are already looking at their game against San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday as a must-win.
Nashville have won just once in the MLS this season and sit in 14th place in the Eastern Conference after a run of four without a win.
The Earthquakes, meanwhile, are bottom of the Western Conference having lost eight of their matches and recording just one win.
Godoy is aware of how their poor start to the season could affect their playoff hopes later down the line but is confident that Nashville can turn things around.
He said: “For us, it's an important week. It's a day we have to win, or we'll start to feel the pressure from other teams as they start to separate in the table.
“This league is long but if we want to get to the playoff you have to win games early on, especially at home.”
Liverpool agree compensation deal for Slot
Liverpool and Feyenoord have reached an agreement in principle over a compensation deal for Arne Slot to become the Reds’ manager next season, according to widespread Dutch media reports.
The Dutchman is reportedly poised to take over from Jurgen Klopp, who announced in January that he would be leaving the club at the end of the campaign.
Slot led Feyenoord to their second Eredivisie title last season after taking over the club in 2021.
It is believed that he topped the list of Liverpool’s favoured candidates due to his attacking playing style and ability to develop players.
Former Liverpool midfielder, Xabi Alonso, who led Bayer Leverkusen to their first Bundesliga title, and Sporting CP’s Ruben Amorim were also reported contenders to take over from Klopp.
Slot had already confirmed his interest in managing in the Premier League, both earlier this week and previously when he was linked to Tottenham in 2023.
QPR 4-0 Leeds United: Shock loss for Farke's men seals Leicester's promotion
QPR thrashed Leeds United 4-0 in the Championship on Friday, ensuring Leicester City booked their promotion straight back to the Premier League.
Ilias Chair was the star for the Hoops as he scored the opener and assisted two more goals to ensure QPR will stay in the Championship for another season.
Lucas Andersen, Lyndon Dykes and Sam Field also got their names on the scoresheet in an emphatic win for Marti Cifuentes' side.
Leeds' heaviest defeat of the season was a huge blow in the race for an automatic promotion spot, with Ipswich Town just one point behind them in third place with two games in hand going into their away clash against Hull City on Saturday.
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