Pep Guardiola is facing the biggest game of Manchester City's season without three of his most valuable defenders available.
10.03.2024 - 07:57 / manchestereveningnews.co.uk
Pep Guardiola will have a near fully-fit squad for Manchester City's clash against Liverpool.
City travel to Anfield to face the Merseyside club in the top-of-the-table clash in the Premier League. Guardiola and Co. go into the fixture having beaten Manchester United at home last weekend.
Midweek also saw City in Champions League action, as they claimed a 3-1 win in the second leg of their last-16 tie against FC Copenhagen. Guardiola was without some key players for that game, including Jack Grealish and Jeremy Doku.
City also had Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva and Phil Foden as unused substitutes for the win over Copenhagen, while John Stones made a cameo appearance from the bench. Guardiola is likely to call on the majority, if not all, of the quartet in his starting line-up to face Liverpool.
READ MORE: Noel Gallagher uses one word to shut down Trent Alexander-Arnold's Man City trophy dig
READ MORE: Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville disagree over crucial Liverpool vs Man City prediction
Grealish is sidelined with a groin injury that has seen him miss City's last two games, although he has been dealing with the issue since early February. Doku missed City's win over Copenhagen on Wednesday night through injury, and it remains to be seen if the forward recovers in time to feature at Anfield.
Matheus Nunes is also a doubt after he suffered a finger injury during the win over Copenhagen. The midfielder, though, appears to remain available for selection heading into the trip to Merseyside.
Below is the full list of Man City's expected matchday squad to face Liverpool, barring any late injury or fitness issues:
Goalkeepers: Ederson, Stefan Ortega
Defenders: Ruben Dias, Manuel Akanji, Josko Gvardiol, Kyle Walker,
Pep Guardiola is facing the biggest game of Manchester City's season without three of his most valuable defenders available.
Gareth Southgate defended his decision to play John Stones for England on Tuesday - saying other key players for Manchester City, Liverpool and Arsenal were used in the same way.
Manchester City's preparations to face Arsenal this weekend have suffered another setback with news of a fifth player withdrawing from international duty.
England boss Gareth Southgate says the severity of Kyle Walker's injury is currently unknown after the Manchester City defender was forced off in Saturday night's loss to Brazil.
Arsenal goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale has shared John Stones’ nickname within the England camp.
Both Manchester United and Manchester City booked their place in the final four of the FA Cup over the weekend with another trip to Wembley on the horizon for both clubs.
Manchester City’s chances of retaining the Champions League this season have been rated with Pep Guardiola’s side the most likely to win the competition, according to a Supercomputer simulation.
Manchester City will face Real Madrid in the Champions League quarter-finals, as they learned their route to the final on Friday.
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has already confessed he would prefer to avoid Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain in today's Champions League quarter-final draw.
Manchester City have raked in more than €85million from their Champions League run thus far, dwarfing the figures earned by their Premier League rivals.
Newcastle United have been handed an apparent injury boost ahead of their weekend FA Cup clash with Manchester City.
Liverpool may have used Trent Alexander-Arnold's 'it means more' comments as fuel against Manchester City this weekend - but the Blues squad insist the pre-match row played little part in their preparations at Anfield.
Jamie Carragher is still of the opinion Manchester City are the team to beat as the business end of the Premier League season approaches.
Manchester City defender John Stones said there was a sense of deflation inside the dressing room following their 1-1 draw with Premier League title rivals Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday.
Gary Neville believes Manchester City must win at Anfield this afternoon to prove one final point under Pep Guardiola.
Liverpool could have as many as 10 first-team players unavailable when they face Manchester City today.
Pep Guardiola doesn't want to focus on anything but his own Manchester City side this weekend - telling his players that if the Liverpool crowd at Anfield begin to influence the referee, they must simply perform better to try and win.
Liverpool have been handed two further injury blows ahead of Sunday's crunch Premier League title showdown with Manchester City on Sunday after Ibrahima Konate and Joe Gomez were both withdrawn for Jurgen Klopp's side in Europe.
It was a record-breaking night for Manchester City on Wednesday as they brushed Copenhagen aside to progress into the Champions League quarter-finals.
Manchester City secured their spot in the Champions League last eight on Wednesday night and already attention has shifted to Sunday’s Premier League title showdown with Liverpool.