Savinho’s Man City message sparks response from Arsenal forgotten man
Manchester City are preparing for the return of Savinho when they face Leicester in the Premier League on Wednesday.
Pep Guardiola’s side head into their last nine league games of the season with it all on the line and are locked in an eight-way battle for Champions League football, with England in line to receive five places.
City sit in the fifth and last qualification place at present, but defeat to relegation-threatened Leicester could see them leapfrogged by Newcastle, Brighton, and even Fulham if their results go against them.
Chelsea are the only immediately catchable team for Guardiola’s side, who will also have to contend with Erling Haaland’s absence after he picked up an injury against Bournemouth in Sunday’s FA Cup win.
The FA Cup represents City’s only chance of salvaging a season to forget having reached the semi-finals by beating Bournemouth, but failing to ensure Champions League qualification will be a colossal failure.
Savinho set for Man City return v Leicester
City were without Savinho for Sunday’s clash on the south coast; the Brazilian missing the match altogether to attend the birth of his first child after returning from international duty with Brazil.
The 20-year-old impressed for Brazil in their last-gasp victory over Colombia despite being restricted to a second-half cameo, and is now back at Etihad Campus preparing to make his comeback for Man City.
Savinho posted on Instagram (31 March) with four images of him taking part in training for the Blues, taking on Nico O’Reilly who impressed against Bournemouth, in two of them ahead of facing Leicester.
Jack Grealish and Rico Lewis both liked the post, while Arsenal winger Marquinhos – a team-mate of Savinho’s at Brazil Under-17 and Under-21 level – commented, saying in Portuguese; “it doesn’t work”.
Savinho set to become central figure at Man City
While Marquinhos has become a forgotten figure at Arsenal, having been loaned to Norwich City, Nantes, Fluminense and Cruzeiro since his last appearance in 2023, there’s no such danger of that for Savinho.
The former Girona man looks set to feature against the Foxes on Wednesday and could be an automatic starter, particularly given Phil Foden failed to impress yet again playing off the left against Bournemouth.
| Player | Appearances | Starts | Goals | Assists |
| Savinho | 38 | 29 | 2 | 11 |
Football Insider revealed on 30 March that other wide attacking options such as Bernardo Silva could be on their way out of the Etihad Stadium this summer, pushing Savinho even further up the pecking order.
Savinho’s output in front of goal must improve if he’s to stake a permanent starting place, but as he returns to action, facing a lowly Leicester side gives him the perfect opportunity to make an impact.