Title race not over as Silva to play again this season for Man City
Published:Manchester City may have kept themselves firmly in the title race with victory over West Brom, but with Sergio Aguero substituted as a precaution and David Silva stretchered off with an ankle problem, their prospects of overhauling Liverpool initially seemed bleak.
With top scorer Yaya Toure also sidelined, the 5/1 on offer for a second Man City title win in three seasons would have been about as popular as Liverpool announcing that David Moyes will be replacing Brendan Rodgers as manager this summer.
However, some updates on the Man City injury situation suggest that ploughing into Liverpool’s title odds of 1/6 is not guaranteed to end in glory.
Toure is reportedly 50/50 to return for Man City’s next Premier League outing at over-achieving Crystal Palace, while Aguero is expected to be fit to feature, having netted 15 times in his last 16 top-flight appearances.
Man City are 4/9 to triumph at Selhurst Park against a Crystal Palace side on a five-game win streak, which is their longest since 2012.
With Silva playing through the pain barrier for much of the last month, the preliminary diagnosis was that his latest setback would rule him out for the remainder of the campaign.
This would be a hammer blow to City, given that he has completed more passes and a greater number of key passes on average than any other player in the Premier League this season.
He has also produced more assists than any of his teammates and netted three goals in his last seven top-flight starts.
But speculation from Spain suggest that Silva’s injury is only a sprain and he could well be fit to return in a fortnight, which would make him available for Man City’s final two league fixtures at home to Aston Villa and West Ham.
And Silva’s return could be critical, as the club have failed to win their last two games without their creative Spaniard and see a 15 per cent drop in their win percentage without him in the side.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
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