Man City lose defender Eric Garcia to injury vs Marseille

direct to your inboxThe date and kick-off details for Manchester United and Manchester City's Carabao Cup semi-final have been confirmed. The match will come after a hectic festive fixture schedule for both clubs and be played on January 6 at Old Trafford, with kick-off at 7:45pm.

direct to your inboxManchester United will host Manchester City in one of the Carabao Cup semi-finals in a repeat of last year's last-four tie. Earlier this year City won 3-2 on aggregate after the Blues won 3-1 at Old Trafford and United won the reverse fixture 1-0.

straight to your inboxJamie Carragher named John Stones as his 'player to watch' in 2021 after the defender's recent renaissance with Manchester City.The England defender looked destined to leave the club in the summer after falling out of favour with Pep Guardiola and barely featuring at the end of the 2019/20 campaign.

straight to your inboxBarcelona are planning on announcing the signing of Manchester City defender Eric Garcia in January, though he won't arrive until the summer, according to reports.Garcia enjoyed a breakout season last year as the teenager established himself as a first-team regular but it was then announced that he had turned down the chance to extend his contract.Barcelona, the club Garcia left in 2017 to join City, made no secret of their desire to re-sign the Spaniard and attempted to do

straight to your inboxPep Guardiola has said Manchester City's goalscoring issues cannot be solved by switching individuals in or out of the team.The Blues continued their struggles in front of goal in midweek as a 1-1 draw with West Brom left them eight points off the top of the Premier League table despite an impressive defensive record this season.

straight to your inboxPep Guardiola said Gabriel Jesus is needed for his defensive work at Manchester City even if he is not scoring goals. City's No.9 has been culpable as the Blues have struggled in front of goal all season, failing to score or even record a shot on target in six matches since the Liverpool game on November 8 and missing one of the best chances of the goalless Manchester derby.

straight to your inbox every day for freeBrandon Williams put himself forward to play in Manchester United's Under-23s derby against Man City to build his own match fitness. That was revealed by U23s boss Neil Wood after United and City played out an entertaining 2-2 draw at Leigh Sports Village on Sunday.

straight to your inbox every day for freeDavid de GeaMade a solid save from Riyad Mahrez with a more assured stance than in midweek. Otherwise utterly untroubled.

straight to your inboxPablo Zabaleta says John Stones would not be part of his ideal back four for Manchester City.The centre-back has been in excellent form since being recalled to City's starting line-up, having effectively found himself as sixth-choice centre-back during the summer.It has led to plenty of debate over what City's strongest defence is, with Aymeric Laporte missing four of their last five games.The likes of Nathan Ake, Eric Garcia and summer signing Ruben Dias are also vying for

straight to your inboxJohn Stones can still play for England at Euro 2020 as he emerges from a prolonged dip in form and arrives into the best years of his career, according to Joleon Lescott.Stones lost his place in the national team after falling well down the pecking order at Manchester City last season, with questions over his future at the club.

straight to your inbox Ilkay Gundogan is set to be fit for Manchester City's trip to Old Trafford, but the Blues will be without Eric Garcia. Both players limped out of the Champions League victory against Marseille on Wednesday night and while Gundogan has trained ahead of the derby, Garcia faces a longer spell on the sidelines.

straight to your inbox Manchester City are sweating on the fitness of Ilkay Gundogan for Saturday's derby after he came off in the win over Marseille with an ankle injury. Gundogan was one of two players to start the dead rubber against the Ligue 1 side from the team that beat Fulham 2-0 in the Premier League on Saturday, with Riyad Mahrez the other survivor.

straight to your inboxBernado Silva says he is 'very happy' to have Sergio Aguero back in the team after the striker made a goalscoring return from injury on Wednesday.Manchester City brought their Champions League group stage campaign to a close in style as they comfortably defeated Marseille 3-0 at the Etihad. Although the early loss of Eric Garcia to injury will come as a blow, Pep Guardiola was finally able to call upon the services of Aguero again, who came on with 25 minutes remaining.

straight to your inboxPep Guardiola has named a strong starting XI for Manchester City's final Champions League group game against Marseille, with Sergio Aguero returning on the bench.City have nothing to play for tonight after securing top spot in last week's hard-fought draw at Porto, so fans were hoping to see some of the club's exciting starlets get a chance from the start for the visit of the French side.

straight to your inboxManchester City fans have had their say on how they want to see Pep Guardiola line-up for tonight's game against Marseille. With the Manchester derby to follow at the weekend and City's place in the knockout stages already secured, fans are keen to see 10 changes from the side that beat Fulham at the weekend.

straight to your inboxRodri could miss Manchester City's final Champions League group game with Marseille as a precaution after sitting out the team training session on Tuesday. The midfielder, who has been one of Pep Guardiola's most trusted and used players this season, was not feeling 100 per cent for the session so a decision was taken not to risk him.

straight to your inboxPep Guardiola is expected to recall a number of players for the Premier League visit of Fulham today.After resting some of his big hitters in the Champions League this week, Guardiola can call upon the likes of Kevin De Bruyne, Ilkay Gundogan and Kyle Walker again as Manchester City look to build on last week's win over Burnley.With an opportunity for more rotation this week against Marseille, City can afford to go strong against Fulham in order to get three points and also

straight to your inboxPep Guardiola remains confident that Sergio Aguero and his "unique" scoring senses can help fire Manchester City to success this season.The Argentine missed the first month of the campaign as he recovered from a knee issue that he suffered in June, and pulled up with a hamstring complaint two games after returning in October.

straight to your inboxPep Guardiola says Manchester City need to take their Champions League dead rubber seriously if they want to consider themselves a big team. The Blues confirmed top spot in the group with a drab 0-0 draw at Porto, ensuring an easier draw on paper in the last-16 of the knockout competition next year.