While much of England’s attention is on the FA Cup semifinals, Manchester City has goals of their own to attain. They’ve got a tough match at hand at the Etihad Stadium with Stoke City coming for a visit, and while the Potters haven’t won in three matches, Manchester will still need to be on high alert to avoid an upset.
Manchester City vs. Stoke City 2016 live stream: Time, TV schedule and how to watch EPL online
Manchester City can’t afford to drop any points, but Stoke aren’t going to make that easy for them.
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The Citizens are in a precarious position -- they have just a slim two point lead over arch-rivals Manchester United, and are two points behind Arsenal for third place. They can’t afford any losses or slip-ups right now, but Stoke have made a habit this season out of finding ways to trip teams up when they can lead afford it. If Manchester lose their focus at all in this match, they could wind up paying dearly for it come the end of the season.
Key player -- Marko Arnautovic (Stoke City)
With Xherdan Shaqiri and Jon Walters both out, Stoke’s attack will be leaning heavily on Arnautovic in order to find success. Under the circumstances of facing City that’s a big ask, but the Austrian forward has stepped up time and time again for Stoke this season -- and if he can do that again in this match, they might just have a shot at causing an upset and really ruining Manchester City’s day.
Key matchup -- Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City) vs. Glenn Whelan (Stoke City)
Manchester’s attack has been much, much more lethal since De Bruyne returned from injury, with his high-class talent and balancing influence helping unlock things in their attack that they’d been struggling with while he was out. Keeping him in check will be the main task of Stoke’s midfield, though that will be a herculean effort to undertake. Whelan will be hard-tested to try to slow down the tricky Belgian, and while the Irishman has put in some impressive performances this season -- well, don’t hold your breath expecting miracles.
Manchester City injuries and suspensions
Out: Samir Nasri In doubt: David Silva, Gael Clichy, Bacary Sagna
Stoke City injuries and suspensions
Out: Xherdan Shaqiri, Jon Walters, Glen Johnson, Marc Wilson, Jack Butland
Match Date/Time: Sat., 7:45 p.m. ET, 12:45 p.m.local
Venue: Etihad Stadium, Manchester, England
TV: NBCSN (U.S. - English), NBC Universo (U.S. - Spanish), TSN 1, 3, 4 (Canada), Sky Sports 1/HD (U.K.)
Online: NBC Sports Live Extra (U.S.), Sky Go (U.K.)
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