Guardiola Urges Christmas COVID-19 Precautions at Man City

Pep Guardiola. (AP)
Pep Guardiola. (AP)
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Guardiola Urges Christmas COVID-19 Precautions at Man City

Pep Guardiola. (AP)
Pep Guardiola. (AP)

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has asked his players to take all the necessary precautions during Christmas celebrations with their friends and families to avoid a COVID-19 outbreak at the Premier League club.

Fellow Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur had a second match postponed this week after the league agreed to call off Sunday's game at Brighton & Hove Albion due to a number of COVID-19 cases.

Spurs also had their Europa Conference League game against Stade Rennais called off by UEFA after the club said they had 13 positive cases - eight players and five members of staff.

Leicester City were without several players for their Europa League game at Napoli on Thursday due to COVID-19, and Guardiola said he hoped to avoid a similar situation at his side, calling on his players to be vigilant.

"They know they have to be careful, be at home as much as possible. When they go out, social distance and wear a mask. Look at the statistics, the rules from the government. It's still there... and there are setbacks," Guardiola said.

The Spanish manager, whose mother died due to COVID-19 last year, said leaders City cancelled plans for a Christmas party.

"You have to protect yourself, because at Christmas time there's a tendency for more parties, going out more often," added Guardiola, whose side take on Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday.

"Everyone at home organizes a party with family and kids. They're going to do it. We're not going to say don't do it, but be careful. The risk is high.

"Look at what happened at Tottenham and Leicester. It can happen here as well, if we don't pay attention. That's a big problem for them, for their health and family, but of course, the team."



Americans Favored to Top Overall Medal Count in Paris Olympics

Paris 2024 Olympics - Preview - Eiffel Tower, Paris, France - June 25, 2024 Olympic rings are displayed on the Eiffel Tower, ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympic games in Paris REUTERS/Pawel Kopczynski
Paris 2024 Olympics - Preview - Eiffel Tower, Paris, France - June 25, 2024 Olympic rings are displayed on the Eiffel Tower, ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympic games in Paris REUTERS/Pawel Kopczynski
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Americans Favored to Top Overall Medal Count in Paris Olympics

Paris 2024 Olympics - Preview - Eiffel Tower, Paris, France - June 25, 2024 Olympic rings are displayed on the Eiffel Tower, ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympic games in Paris REUTERS/Pawel Kopczynski
Paris 2024 Olympics - Preview - Eiffel Tower, Paris, France - June 25, 2024 Olympic rings are displayed on the Eiffel Tower, ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympic games in Paris REUTERS/Pawel Kopczynski

The United States is strongly favored to win the most overall medals when the Paris Olympics open in a month. The big question is this: will the Americans also top the gold-medal tally in a close race with China?
The United States is projected to win 123 medals overall — 37 gold, 34 silver, and 52 bronze. China is forecast to win 87 overall — 36 gold, 29 silver, and 22 bronze.
This forecast is done by Nielsen’s Gracenote Sports, which supplies statistical analysis for sports leagues around the world. It also tracks major competitions involving Olympic sports leading up to the Games, The Associated Press reported.
The United States and China finished 1-2 in both categories in 2021 in the pandemic-delayed Tokyo Olympics.
Gracenote’s ranking is based on overall medals won, although others focus the rankings on gold totals. The International Olympic Committee does not compile rankings, leaving this to nations and local media.
This would be the eighth straight time the United States has won the most overall medals in the Summer Games. In 1992 at Barcelona, the so-called Unified team topped the overall count. Those athletes were from the former Soviet Union, which had just broken up as a sovereign state.
The last time the United States did not top the gold-medal count in the Summer Games was in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, where China invested heavily and saw dividends.
Next in line with overall and gold totals for Paris are: Britain (62-14), France (56-29), Australia (48-13), Japan (46-12), Italy (46-11), Germany (37-10), Netherlands (34-17), South Korea (29-8).
The next 10 are: Hungary (23-7), Canada (20-6), Spain (18-4), Ukraine (17-2), Brazil (16-7), New Zealand (16-4), Poland (15-5), Denmark (14-5), Türkiye (14-4), Ethiopia (13-2).
And 21 through 30 are: Sweden (12-6), Georgia (12-3), Serbia (11-5), Belgium (11-3), Uzbekistan (11-3), Kazakhstan (10-2), Iran (9-4), Croatia (9-3), Romania (9-2), Ireland (9-2).
Host nations always get a bump in medals, and France is expected to get a big one and increase its overall total from 33 in Tokyo. France is forecast to nearly triple its gold-medal output from Tokyo, where Japan picked up a record haul.
Performing at home is an advantage, partly because host nations invest more heavily in training athletes. Then, of course, there are adoring home crowds and the familiar surroundings.
The unknown factor is the presence of Russian and — to a lesser extent — Belarusian athletes. They have been absent from most international competitions over the last two years because of the war in Ukraine. It's still unclear how many will participate, and their influence is difficult to factor into the forecast, Gracenote acknowledges.