City Xtra

Manchester City suffered a fifth consecutive loss in all competitions after falling to a 0-4 defeat against Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League on Saturday evening.

A unsurprising defeat and cruel exchange with records at the full-time whistle was a return to action to forget for Pep Guardiola and his players in their latest outing against Tottenham at the Etihad Stadium.

Despite a few shaky pieces of play, Manchester City appeared to be playing fluid football in the opening minutes of the contest. But it took Spurs only 10 minutes to destroy the illusion – exposing the reigning champions for all of their faults.

The Blues created a few chances mostly ending with Erling Haaland missing the mark. Phil Foden combined with Josko Gvardiol to steer past the Spurs’ defence a few times, but while impressive in attack, the Croatian would soon be punished for his defensive duties.

Dejan Kulusevski caught Gvardiol off guard and escaped with the ball before curling it in with a splendid pass to find James Madison. The midfielder found space between John Stones and Kyle Walker and glided past defenders to send the ball past Ederson into the corner.

The visitors continued to build pressure on Pep Guardiola’s men, with their relentless attacks paying off sooner than City expected. A misplaced pass from Gvardiol saw Maddison pounce on the ball and roll it in Son Heung-min’s path, before making a diagonal run inside the box.

The Spurs forward patiently waited for the ball before passing it back to Madison, who dinked it over Ederson for 0-2. The hosts went on to create a handful of chances but failed to bring any to fruition. Ederson was thoroughly tested, as City’s defence repeatedly fell apart.

Things were hardly different in the second half, with the visiting side quickly adding a third. Kulusevski once again found his way past City’s defence, beating three players with some help from Son to find Dominic Solanke, and the latter cut it back for Pedro Porro to fire home.

Kevin De Bruyne’s introduction a little over the hour mark sparked a relentless wave of attacks from the Blues. City forwards forced Vicario to make multiple crucial saves within a small window, but the Spurs goalkeeper stood his ground withstanding all pressure.

Like the previous goals, City were punished with a sudden counter-attack in the final moments. Timo Werner glided past Walker to find a myriad of space and rolled the ball into the path of Brennan Johnson, who netted a fourth goal for Ange Postecoglou’s side.

This marked the first time Pep Guardiola suffered a fifth consecutive defeat in his managerial career. The Catalan has a considerable task ahead of him as Manchester City remain five points behind leaders Liverpool ahead of their Premier League clash this weekend.

Here’s how we believe the Manchester City players fared in their clash against Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday evening, as attentions will immediately turn to a UEFA Champions League meeting against Feyenoord on Tuesday night.

Player Ratings

Starting XI

Ederson – 6

Conceded goals that were as typical as they come, made crucial saves, and at times, appeared as the only saving grace at the back

Kyle Walker – 4

Spun around, outpaced and outmatched, but managed to keep Son from posing more threat.

John Stones – 5

Made crucial interceptions at the back but should have done better in the first two goals.

Manuel Akanji – 5

Unable to cope with the intensity of Spurs’ relentless attacks, was caught off-guard on a few occasions.

Josko Gvardiol – 5

Was outplayed by Dejan Kulusevski, who grew increasingly comfortable attacking down the right side as the game progressed, two mistakes leading to goals. Offered plenty of hope in attack, though.

Bernardo Silva – 5

Exceptional work rate, and yet, nothing to show for the same, ran back and forth but made no significant difference to attack or defence.

Ilkay Gundogan – 4

Struggled in his pairing with Rico Lewis, was poor in his forward passes, and barely offered help top the defensive line-up.

Rico Lewis – 4

Appeared to be somewhat nervous in the defensive midfield role, ended up being a liability for the defensive line-up.

Savinho – 5

Made impressive runs moving forward but made poor choices with his final play.

Phil Foden – 5

Tried creating multiple chances and commanded the attacks from the midfield but failed to pierce through the Spurs’ defence as often as he would have liked.

Erlin Haaland – 4

Missed several of his chances, far from his goal-scoring form for club lately.

Substitutes

Nathan Ake – 5

Replaced John Stones and found himself overwhelmed by Dominic Solanke, should have done better for the third goal.

Kevin De Bruyne – 5.5

Ignited a fire in Manchester City’s attack despite the limited presence, created chances to spark a new hope amidst his side but to no avail.

Jack Grealish – 4

Received the ball, made his runs, tricked the defenders, and nothing came of it.

Manchester City return to action in the Premier League after the November international break, and they do so against big-six rivals Tottenham Hotspur.

The Etihad Stadium outfit should head into the clash against the North London club with renewed energy, despite losing four straight matches across all competitions before the break. Just days ago, Pep Guardiola penned his future at the club for two more years until 2027.

It is not the first time the club have extended the Catalan manager’s contract in the midst of a losing run, cementing their faith in the decorated coach’s ability to continue leading the side into the future.

They will need to quickly rectify their recent form however, as Liverpool begin to break away in the Premier League under Arne Slot, and they can start with a statement win against the side that knocked them out of the League Cup just a few weeks ago — Tottenham Hotspur.

Ahead of the Premier League showdown, let’s take a look at how Manchester City may line-up, keeping in mind the continue to be ravaged by injuries!

Predicted XI

Ederson will maintain his role as the number one between the sticks for Pep Guardiola at Manchester City, despite playing for Brazil during the international break and making the long flight back to Europe later than some of his teammates in action elsewhere on the continent.

Kyle Walker has had a dip in form this season, but injuries elsewhere may just force Pep Guardiola into deploying the veteran full-back against his former team, taking his captain’s armband for the fixture.

Meanwhile, there has been some good news on the fitness front as both Manuel Akanji and John Stones trained in the week leading up the Spurs clash, and we expect that duo to patrol the centre of defence.

Josko Gvardiol has been arguably the most consistent performer for Manchester City this season, and should maintain his stranglehold on the left-back role having extended his fine form in front of goal over to the Croatia national side earlier this week.

Things start to get interesting as we head into midfield. With Mateo Kovacic ruled out through injury and likely to stay sidelined for up to a month, the makeshift midfield could be a double-pivot of Ilkay Gundogan and Rico Lewis.

Ahead of that duo it gets trickier. Kevin De Bruyne maintained his involvement in training this week, but we expect the Belgian to be deployed as a ‘super-sub’ while he gets back up to speed in matches. That means Phil Foden will take up the key creator role behind the striker.

Bernardo Silva could be key for Pep Guardiola with injuries elsewhere, and will likely be important in trying to wrestle back control with Kovacic and Rodri out. We do expect him to float in and out of midfield, rotating with Phil Foden on the centre-right of the pitch.

That leaves the seemingly two automatic attackers for Pep Guardiola these days, with Matheus Nunes taking up his ‘usual’ role on the left of Manchester City’s front-three, and the ever-present Erling Haaland through the middle to lead the line.

Predicted XI: Ederson; Walker, Stones, Akanji, Gvardiol; Gundogan, Lewis, Foden; Bernardo, Haaland, Nunes.

Manchester City manager has shutdown comparison between Kevin De Bruyne and Tottenham’s Dejan Kulusevski during a media conference this week.

Questions surrounding the pair emerged as the Swedish playmaker played an integral role in Tottenham successfully overcoming the challenge of Manchester City in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup on Wednesday night.

First-half goals from Timo Werner and Pape Sarr were responded to by Matheus Nunes for Pep Guardiola’s side, who were ultimately unable to add to their scoring output and exited the League Cup in the earlier stages once again.

One player who has continued to be absent from the Manchester City matchday squad is Kevin De Bruyne, who maintains presence in first-team training but feels as though he is continuing to lack match readiness and is not wanting to take any risks on his fitness.

Speaking at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium after Manchester City’s 2-1 exit from the Carabao Cup, Pep Guardiola was questioned whether Dejan Kulusevski is similar to Kevin De Bruyne after a strong performance once again from the Swede.

“No. Nobody is like Kevin,” Guardiola insisted.

“In his prime? The amount of things that Kevin produces in a game, nobody can do it!”

An update was also provided on the fitness of De Bruyne after the contest, with Pep Guardiola believing that it is unlikely the 33-year-old will return to any sort of match action before the international break in November.

Alongside the Belgian international, there is also a belief that Kyle Walker and Jack Grealish will not feature in that same time, in addition to Jeremy Doku alongside lengthier absentees in Oscar Bobb and Ballon d’Or winner, Rodri.

Manchester City have received an important update on the fitness of Manuel Akanji following his late withdrawal from the starting line-up against Tottenham this week.

The mainstay central defender in Pep Guardiola’s starting line-ups this season was selected to start against Ange Postecoglou’s side on Wednesday night alongside John Stones in the heart of the City defence.

However, upon emerging for the pre-match handshakes and various routines, it emerged that Akanji had withdrawn late and was replaced by Ruben Dias alongside Stones, with the Portugal international also taking the captain’s armband for the contest.

During his post-match press conference, Pep Guardiola told reporters, “In the last action, felt something in the muscular part of his body and today in the warm-up he didn’t feel good. He said, ‘No I can take a risk’, and I said, ‘No, no risk!'”

Now, speaking during a new interview with Sky Sports News’ Anton Toloui, Manuel Akanji has revealed his intention to be fit and available for City against Bournemouth on Saturday afternoon, whilst also revealing the reason why he pulled out of the midweek contest.

The 29-year-old told Sky Sports News that he is hoping to be back in Manchester City first-team training on Friday, and as such be ready for selection at the Vitality Stadium against Bournemouth on Saturday afternoon.

The Switzerland international has revealed that he had pulled out of the Carabao Cup fourth round tie against Tottenham after feeling a tightness in his groin during the warm-up alongside his City teammates.

City are however continuing to await final assessments and scans regarding the injury sustained by Savinho at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, after the Brazilian was substituted in the second-half with an ankle problem and withdrawn with the aid of a stretcher.

Sources close to the player have told City Xtra that the injury is ‘nothing serious’ and ‘just a scare’, however many supporters will recall the initial positive feeling around Rodri’s knee injury sustained against Arsenal before the worst case scenario was later confirmed.

Pep Guardiola will provide an update on more than eight first-team stars when he faces the media on Friday afternoon, with Manchester City travelling to the south coast later on the same day.

The injury sustained by Savinho is nothing serious and ‘just a scare’, sources close to the player have told City Xtra.

The Brazil international became Manchester City’s eighth injury blow on Wednesday night after sustaining a blow to his ankle during the club’s Carabao Cup exit at the hands of Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham in North London.

Savinho’s early exit from the contest in the second-half followed a pre-match casualty, as Manuel Akanji was withdrawn from the starting line-up with a muscular issue sustained in the warm-ups, while Josko Gvardiol was treated at full-time by club medical staff.

Speaking during his post-match press conference, manager Pep Guardiola said of Savinho’s injury, “He had a knock in the 18-yard box, potential penalty, and we’ll see tomorrow what happened.

“We have to see if it just a knock or something else, because it was on the bone. Hopefully it’s nothing dangerous, but we’ll see tomorrow.”

Now, sources close to the player have informed City Xtra that the injury sustained in the second-half of the 2-1 defeat to Tottenham is ‘just a scare’, with official scans still to come from the City Football Academy.

Colleagues at City Xtra Portuguese have also stated that the 20-year-old is ‘fine’ having sustained ‘nothing serious’ on Wednesday night, despite initial concerns after the Brazilian was stretchered off the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium pitch.

Manchester City will be hoping for the same indications to emerge from scans on Savinho’s injury on Thursday, with the fixtures continuing to be unrelenting for Pep Guardiola’s squad with three away fixtures remaining before the international break.

A visit to both Bournemouth and Brighton & Hove Albion in the Premier League will be sandwiched by matchday four of the UEFA Champions League and a visit to Sporting CP in Lisbon, managed by Ruben Amorim prior to his Manchester United move.

Confirmed absentees from the weekend’s clash against Andoni Iraola’s side, as per Pep Guardiola speaking during his media conference on Wednesday night, consist of Kyle Walker, Rodri, Kevin De Bruyne, Oscar Bobb, Jeremy Doku, and Jack Grealish.

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has issued an update on the fitness of Savinho, after the Brazilian left the pitch against Tottenham in tears after an ankle injury.

The Brazil international became the eighth Manchester City player to seemingly be restricted to the sidelines through an injury in what is becoming an increasingly precarious position for Pep Guardiola and his coaching staff.

The injury to Savinho only added to City’s woes on Wednesday evening as their unbeaten run in the ongoing season came to an end by crashing out of the Carabao Cup at the fourth round stage via Tottenham and goals from Timo Werner and Pape Sarr.

While City are unlikely to be too affected by the exit from the competition, with their priorities lying in the Premier League and Champions League in particular, the state of play in their first-team squad in terms of available players may have huge ramifications on their season.

In the wide positions, Savinho’s exit via the aid of a stretcher at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium leaves Pep Guardiola with no natural wingers at his disposal, barring a positive outcome on medical testing on the winger’s ankle injury in the coming hours and days.

Speaking after defeat in the Carabao Cup, Pep Guardiola issued a small update on the Brazilian after the contest prior to the club returning to the City Football Academy in the early hours of Thursday morning.

“He had a knock in the 18-yard box, a potential penalty, and we’ll see tomorrow what happened, we will see tomorrow,” Guardiola said.

“We have to see if it just a knock or something else, it was on the bone. Hopefully it’s nothing dangerous, but we’ll see tomorrow.”

Manchester City’s post-Tottenham recovery session and training ground duties were also confirmed to be heavily limited, as Guardiola went on to say, “We have two goalkeepers and Erling Haaland in the training session. The rest, we don’t have anything else.”

City will begin preparations for their weekend trip to Bournemouth on Saturday afternoon over the coming 48 hours, before two more away trips are on the agenda for Pep Guardiola’s side before the international break.

Next week will see Manchester City visit Lisbon for a clash against Ruben Amorim’s Sporting prior to his move to become Manchester United manager, before closing out the latest block of fixtures with a trip to Brighton & Hove Albion in the English top-flight.

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has revealed why Manuel Akanji was replaced at the last moment before the club’s Carabao Cup meeting with Tottenham this week.

The Premier League champions’ unbeaten start to the new season was brought to an end on Wednesday night at the hands of Ange Postecoglou and his North London outfit with two first-half goals proving too much of a deficit for City to overturn.

Goals from Timo Werner and Pape Sarr was responded to by Matheus Nunes as the Portugal international continues his rich vein of form, but Manchester City were unable to add to their goals on a night when their concerns lay off the pitch.

Pep Guardiola came into the contest with six players ruled out through injury, and his worries were made even worse during the club’s visit to London with all of Savinho, Josko Gvardiol, and Manuel Akanji sustaining issues.

Speaking to reporters in his post-match press conference in North London, Guardiola confirmed that Akanji was withdrawn from the starting line-up after ‘feeling something’ muscular during the warm-ups at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

“Akanji yesterday, I didn’t know it, in the last action felt something in the muscular part of his body and today in the warm-up he didn’t feel good,” Guardiola revealed. “He said, ‘No I can take a risk’, and I said, ‘No, no risk!'”

Continuing further, the Manchester City manager also revealed another minor injury concern within his defence as he said, “Ruben (Dias) is struggling sometimes as well in some moments.”

Manchester City will likely be awaiting most nervously for the results of further assessment regarding Savinho’s injury on Wednesday night, after the Brazilian left the field in tears and via the aid of a stretcher.

It is believed that the winger had sustained a knock to his right ankle, while the delay to his injury having first sustained impact left some wondering whether the injury may be as serious as first presumed.

Pep Guardiola and his City side travel to the south coast this weekend as they return to Premier League action with a meeting against Andoni Iraola’s impressive Bournemouth squad at the Vitality Stadium.

Early goals from Timo Werner and Pape Sarr proved too much for Manchester City, who suffered a 2-1 defeat at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Wednesday night.

The defeat sees City fail to capture the Carabao Cup for the fourth season in a row, after previously winning it four times on the bounce during the start of Pep Guardiola’s tenure at the club.

Timo Werner’s goal came off a counter-attack just five minutes into the match, and Pape Sarr doubled Ange Postecoglou’s side’s lead 20 minutes later with an excellent individual goal from a set piece.

The early deficit proved to be too much for Pep Guardiola’s players to handle, although Matheus Nunes provided the lone goal for Manchester City late in the first-half, as the Sky Blues attempted to mount a comeback.

City had a few chances to grab the equaliser throughout the second half, but the best chance came from Academy graduate Nico O’Reilly in the closing moments of the contest, but his chance was denied by an excellent block from Yves Bissouma on the goal-line.

Manchester City will now travel back down to the south of England this weekend as they make the trip to the Vitality Stadium on Saturday afternoon to face Bournemouth in the return to Premier League action.

Before then, here are the Five Things We Learned from Manchester City’s cup defeat to Spurs!

The small squad might be failing

It’s no secret amongst Manchester City fans that Pep Guardiola prefers to have a smaller squad. The Catalan believes the more players in a dressing room, the more likely you are to have players upset due to a lack of minutes.

It’s a principle that has, for the most part, been incredibly successful. However, it allows the potential for an injury crisis to be devastating.

City went into the ongoing season without without a back-up for both Rodri and Erling Haaland. Just a few weeks after the transfer deadline, Rodri’s ACL took a blow, and Haaland looks thoroughly exhausted by the end of October.

It’s not just these two players though. City are also without Kevin De Bruyne, Oscar Bobb, Jack Grealish, Jeremy Doku, Savinho, and Kyle Walker, while Manuel Akanji was forced out moments before Wednesday’s match, and Josko Gvardiol was in need of treatment at full-time.

No amount of depth can fix all of those injuries, but trying to find a solution with such a small squad could prove to be too difficult of a task for Pep Guardiola.

Ilkay Gundogan still hasn’t woken up

When Ilkay Gundogan was signed (again), it seemed like a perfect solution to Manchester City’s lack of depth in midfield.

However, the honeymoon period is over and after two months there is little to show for it. The German midfielder was irreplaceable just two seasons ago, but he currently looks like a shell of himself.

There’s still piety of time left for the 34-year-old to return to form, but it’s taking a lot longer than any of us expected.

Matheus Nunes’ run continues

It’s hard to remember a bigger redemption story during the Pep Guardiola era than what Matheus Nunes is going through right now.

The Portuguese midfielder has continued to take advantage of every opportunity being given to him at the moment and has gone from backup to borderline starter at the moment.

With injuries ravishing the squad, Matheus Nunes will need to stay in this form for the next few weeks, at the very least.

The Carabao Cup is no longer Manchester City’s trophy

The early ages of the Pep Guardiola era saw Manchester City win the Carabao Cup with such ease and regularity that it was comical. After six wins in eight years, City will now have gone four years without a League Cup victory.

While it’s a disappointment for Manchester City to regularly be missing out on a trophy, there is a benefit in having less games played on the legs of a smaller squad.

The season is only just now about to start

While there is always doom and gloom after a Manchester City defeat, it’s important to highlight all of the good as well.

Despite the injuries and shortened squad, City are currently top of the table in the Premier League. After a relatively calm opening to the season that saw City play only a few difficult fixtures, November is where things start to ratchet up.

City will face Brighton, Spurs and Liverpool over the next month, and have eight fixtures ahead of them in December. Historically this is where City’s season is won, let’s see if Pep Guardiola and co. can do it again.

Manchester City suffered an early exit from the latest edition of the Carabao Cup after a 2-1 defeat at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Wednesday night.

A well-worked goal finished off by Matheus Nunes was not enough to overturn a 2-0 deficit as the eight-time winners of the League Cup bowed out in the fourth round, on a night when 18-year-old Jahmai Simpson-Pusey made his first-team debut in the second-half.

Pep Guardiola’s side got off to a poor start as Timo Werner scored the opener as the clock hit the fifth minute. The attack that started with Spurs’ goalkeeper was finished by the German, who had a similar chance 10 minutes after a loose pass from Ilkay Gundogan.

Things went from bad to worse for the Premier League champions with Tottenham doubling their lead through Pape Sarr. A short corner was played back to the midfielder, who curled the ball past Stefan Ortega Moreno and into the bottom corner.

Manchester City went on to dominate possession in the opening half-hour but failed to register a shot towards Vicario’s goal, proving how difficult it had been to break through the resolute Spurs defence.

The visitors’ first real chances came at the end of the half with a dangerous pass across the box from Matheus Nunes and a wild volley attempt from Phil Foden that should have troubled Vicario but sailed over the crossbar.

Minutes before the half-time whistle, City found a goal through the in-form Matheus Nunes. Savinho beat his man with ease on the right-hand side before picking out the Portuguese international in open space to hit the back of the net from the far post.

The two wide players were easily Manchester City’s best players in the first half and they always looked a threat whenever they picked up the ball.

Similar to the first half, Werner found himself through on goal but fortunately for the visitors, his effort went narrowly wide before Ortega Moreno had to pull off a strong save to deny Dejan Kulusevski shortly after.

City had a lot of the ball in the second half and created some half chances but nothing too threatening towards the Tottenham goalkeeper. Guardiola’s side had lacked a real cutting edge tonight, especially after Savinho was stretchered off midway through the second half.

Substitute Josko Gvardiol breathed a sigh of relief after Richarlison failed to convert his one-on-one by shooting straight at Ortega Moreno. The Croatian’s loose throw-in fell to the Spurs forward who should have tucked away the golden opportunity.

Manchester City will now be looking back to their Premier League title defence as they head to the Vitality Stadium to face Bournemouth on Saturday 2nd November in the second of four consecutive away matches.

Before then, here is how we rated every single player to feature for Manchester City against Tottenham in North London on Wednesday night!

Player Ratings

Starting XI

Stefan Ortega Moreno – 5

Will be annoyed to have conceded at his near post for the second goal. Confident on the ball when pressured. Made a good save in the second half.

Rico Lewis – 6

Struggled in the first-half but started to dictate the game in the second.

John Stones – 6

Been good defensively at right-back and always looked forward when on the ball.

Ruben Dias (C) – 4.5

Really struggled in the first half before getting taken off and was partly to blame for the first goal.

Nathan Ake – 6

Caught out of position for the first goal but was otherwise okay.

Nico O’Reilly – 6

Played a role in Manchester City’s opener and had an eye for finding pockets of space. So close to finding the equaliser late on.

Ilkay Gundogan – 4.5

Not his best game in a Manchester City shirt and came off at half-time with Ruben Dias.

Matheus Nunes – 7.5 (MOTM)

Always looked like a threat when on the ball and took his chance well. One of the standout players from today.

James McAtee – 6

Looked to operate in the half-spaces but struggled with the compact Spurs defence. Had a lot more influence when moved into the false nine position.

Savinho – 7.5

Dangerous on the right wing and was pivotal to Manchester City’s first goal. Very unfortunate to have picked up an injury.

Phil Foden – 5.5

Did not have fun today as the false-nine and failed to create any real chances before being taken off.

Substitutes

Mateo Kovacic – 6

Added a bit more dynamism to the midfield but nothing really changed attacking-wise.

Josko Gvardiol – 6

Played his role defensively but Spurs were still a threat on the counter.

Bernardo Silva – 6.5

Added real confidence and elegance to help create chances in the final third.

Jacob Wright – 6

Gave his all when he came on and had a shot go narrowly wide of the post.

Jahmai Simpson-Pusey – 6

His presence allowed Josko Gvardiol to venture forward and was trusted to defend in a two when he came on for his debut. Had the confidence to play forward through the Spurs lines.

Pep Guardiola and Manchester City have sustained yet another injury blow, this time during the warm-ups ahead of their Carabao Cup meeting with Tottenham.

The latest fitness problem comes at a crucial period for the Premier League champions, who face a run of four consecutive away fixtures including the visit to the capital city on Wednesday night.

Back-to-back visits to the south coast of England will then follow in the Premier League against Bournemouth and Brighton & Hove Albion, sandwiched by a venture into Europe for Champions League action.

That comes against Ruben Amorim’s Sporting Lisbon, who will be nervously awaiting whether their 39-year-old head coach will still be in charge by that point of their season amid strong interest from Manchester United.

But as focus remains very much on the task at hand and the immediate fixture on the horizon, Pep Guardiola has been struck by his seventh injury problem and potential absentee for the upcoming games.

As confirmed by Manchester City in the build-up to kick-off at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for the fourth round tie in the Carabao Cup, Ruben Dias came in for Manuel Akanji at the heart of the Premier League champions’ defence.

Reporting from television broadcasters in north London confirmed that the late change to Manchester City’s line-up came as a result of a calf issue sustained by Manuel Akanji in the warm-ups.

The Swiss international becomes Manchester City’s seventh injury and sidelined player after a host of problems sustained in recent weeks, adding to the long-term problems being handled by both Oscar Bobb and Rodri.

The international break in October brought yet more concerns for Pep Guardiola’s side, with Kyle Walker picking up a knee problem that has restricted him from partaking in any training sessions since Manchester City’s return to action.

Jeremy Doku has also picked up an injury during a recent contest with the belief being that the Belgian sustained a problem in the 1-2 away win against Wolves, while Jack Grealish picked up an issue in the following training session.

Kevin De Bruyne remains sidelined and lacking in match fitness having picked up a groin problem during the 0-0 draw against Inter on matchday one of the UEFA Champions League’s league phase in September.