Manchester City hopeful of Jack Grealish's return from injury

Champions host Nottingham Forest with Bernardo Silva latest to join injury list

Manchester City's Jack Grealish is close to making a return following knee injury. Getty

Manchester City received some much needed boost with Jack Grealish expected to return to the team when the champions host Nottingham Forest in the Premier League on Saturday.

The England midfielder has missed City's last three games with a knee injury and was also unavailable for international duty.

Grealish, 28, has returned to training, easing manager Pep Guardiola's injury concerns after Bernardo Silva this week joined a casualty list that also includes Kevin De Bruyne, John Stones and Mateo Kovacic.

"We need the injured players back because we have a lot of games and we cannot play with the same players," Guardiola said.

"Jack is coming back. He has trained well and maybe he will be ready for some minutes. Kova is almost there, he's in the last part of the recovery but now we've lost Bernardo. John and Kevin are still out."

Silva could miss City's next few games after injuring himself in their Champions League match against Red Star Belgrade.

Silva was forced off before halftime of City's 3-1 home win over the Serbian side in their Champions League group opener on Tuesday.

The treble winners are already without De Bruyne, Kovacic, and Stones. Guardiola had said they were "in trouble" after Silva came off.

"It's a little injury, a week to 10 days he will be out," Guardiola said ahead of Saturday's home game against Nottingham Forest.

"They are playing a lot of games. Less games, less injuries. We've had a lot of games in a row with not much rest, it's just that. We demand a lot of effort and sometimes they can't sustain it."

Silva could miss the Carabao Cup trip to Newcastle, a Premier League game at Wolves and the Champions League clash at RB Leipzig. City then travel to Arsenal on October 8.

Guardiola also praised Julian Alvarez after the 23-year-old started the season with four goals and two assists in his last five games.

"He always has good behaviour, when he's playing or not playing, being a world champion or not. It's always the same," Guardiola said.

"The perfect dose of disappointment when he doesn't play but always ready for the opportunity. Right now with the injuries, he's had minutes and he gives us a lot of good things. That's why he's playing, but he has to continue."

Premier League predictions

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  SATURDAY - Crystal Palace v Fulham (6pm): Palace were 1-0 up until the 87th minute at Aston Villa last week before conceding three goals at the death. Fulham edged to a narrow victory over Luton but it will be the Eagles turn to do the same this time round. Prediction: Palace 2 Fulham 1. Getty

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  Luton Town v Wolves (6pm): A miserable start to the season for both so far. Luton have played four, lost four, scoring just two goals. Wolves have at least won a game but lost the other four and outplayed Liverpool for 45 minutes last week before capitulating to a 3-1 defeat in the second half. Prediction: Luton 0 Wolves 2. AFP

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  Manchester City v Nottingham Forest (6pm): City have won seven out of seven across all competitions since losing on penalties to Arsenal in the Community Shield, although they have had to come back from a goal down in three of those matches. Forest have made a solid start losing just once in their last four games. Prediction: City 3 Forest 1. AP

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  Brentford v Everton (8.30pm): Brentford fell to a narrow defeat at Newcastle last week, their only loss in five games this season. It has been a miserable start for Everton who have taken one point from a possible 15, scoring just twice, and with a potential takeover adding to the uncertainty for the blue half Merseyside. Prediction: Brentford 2 Everton 0. PA

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  Burnley v Manchester United (11pm): Burnley earned their first point of the season when they drew 1-1 at Nottingham Forsest on Monday. They face a United side that have lost three out of the last four games and are struggling with issues on and off the pitch. Prediction. Burnley 1 Man United 0. Reuters

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  SUNDAY - Arsenal v Tottenham Hotspur (5pm): A tough North London derby to call. Both teams have identical records of 13 points from a possible 15 but with Spurs enjoying a marginally better goal difference. Honours even here put plenty of goals at the Emirates. Prediction: Arsenal 2 Spurs 2. EPA

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  Brighton v Bournemouth (5pm): The Seagulls are flying high having demolished Newcastle and Manchester United in their previous two games. Bournemouth have three draws and two defeats so far and still await their first win under manager Andoni Iraola. Prediction: Brighton 2 Bournemouth 0. Reuters

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  Chelsea v Aston Villa (5pm): One win from from five is not the start Mauricio Pochettino would have wanted to his Chelsea reign and last week's goalless draw at Bournemouth highlighted their lack of cutting edge up front. Villa have looked far more comfortable at home this season and their away-day blues look set to continue here, albeit only just. Prediction: Chelsea 1 Villa 0. Getty

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  Liverpool v West Ham (5pm): Four wins on the spin now for Liverpool having dispatched Wolves 3-1 last week following an impressive second-half display. West Ham's unbeaten record and three-game winning streak came to an end against champions Manchester City, despite the Hammers leading 1-0 at half-time. Prediction: Liverpool 3 West Ham 2. AFP

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  Sheffield United v Newcastle United (7.30pm): The Blades still await their first victory having secured just one point from five games, although all four of their losses were by a single goal. Newcastle ended their three-game losing run by beating Brentford last week, but go into the game on the back of a draining Champions League draw in Milan. Prediction: Sheffield United 1 Newcastle 2. AFP