Pep Guardiola will be without his dependable skipper Kevin De Bruyne in the coming weeks after the 30-year-old midfielder tested positive for Covid-19. The Belgian was tested after returning from international duty.The latest setback will annoy the champions who are already sweating on the availability of Jack Grealish and Phil Foden for their Sunday’s match with Everton at Etihad Stadium.Pep announces Kevin De Bruyne received a positive COVID-19 test while in Belgium and needs to quarantine for 10 days. City’s games in the next 10 days: ▪️ vs. Everton ▪️ vs. PSG ▪️ vs. West Ham pic.twitter.com/XOv11HmnrI— B/R Football (@brfootball) November 19, 2021 Guardiola isn’t putting a time frame for his captain’s return to the team and insists that making a full recovery is the only thing that matters now.”We found out that he’s positive two days ago. Forget about fitness and momentum, he is positive now he has to recover. We have to be careful because people are dying from Covid, he is vaccinated so hopefully he will be okay. There is no concern about rhythm it’s about the human being.”##NAJAVA_MECA_5990968##Meanwhile, City’s opponents Everton are as average as you can get this season. After 11 matchdays, they’ve got equal number of wins and losses and have scored as many goals as they’ve conceded. After every strong performance there was a flat performance and a defeat to follow. As you’d expect, the Toffees lie in the middle of the standings at 11th.Rafa Benitez’s main task this season is to win the fans over and build upon last season’s finish of 12th achieved by Carlo Ancelotti. But the Spaniard will have to face the champions without two important players – midfielder Abdoulaye Doucoure and striker Dominic Calvert Lewin. Andre Gomes and Tom Davies are also out with injuries.1️⃣8️⃣6️⃣ league appearances 5️⃣7️⃣4️⃣5️⃣ passes Averaging 3️⃣0️⃣ passes per matchWith 5️⃣0️⃣ clean sheetsEverton and yes, contrary to certain national media, still England number 1️⃣💙 pic.twitter.com/qgqCXX214M— A View From The Bullens (@thebullensview) November 12, 2021 Benitez admits his side needs to show a bit more solidity – and their draw against Antonio Conte’s Spurs was a step in the right direction.”In the last game against Tottenham, the team showed character and the right mentality, and that’s what we have to do in every game. We know we are playing against a good team. We have confidence we can do well.”The match will kick off on Sunday at 19.30.PREMIER LEAGUE ROUND 12Saturday: 15:30 Leicester City – Chelsea18:00 Aston Villa – Brighton & Hove Albion18:00 Burnley – Crystal Palace18:00 Newcastle United – Brentford18:00 Norwich City – Southampton18:00 Watford – Manchester United18:00 Wolverhampton – West Ham United20:30 Liverpool – ArsenalSunday: 17:00 Manchester City – Everton19:30 Tottenham – Leeds United***odds are subject to change
