Ruben Dias lifts lid on John Stones partnership after impressive Man City form

straight to your inboxManchester City's win at Swansea came at a cost as three key players are now doubts for the Premier League clash with Tottenham this weekend.Fernandinho and Ruben Dias didn't travel to South Wales, with Rodri limping off after a late challenge in the second half, and TV cameras showing him in discomfort as he walked down the tunnel at the Liberty Stadium.With Sergio Aguero, Nathan Ake and Kevin De Bruyne still out at various stages of recovery from injury, City now have six

straight to your inboxPep Guardiola could not confirm if Ruben Dias will be fit to face Tottenham as he waits for news on the extent of Rodri's injury. Dias missed his first match since moving to Manchester City from Benfica in September, absent from the matchday squad at Swansea after 30 consecutive appearances in them.

straight to your inboxManchester City's preparations for Anfield last season could not have been more chaotic.With Aymeric Laporte already ruled out for the game and no central defenders filling his shoes, Ederson pulled up in the Champions League encounter with Atalanta three days before to mean Pep Guardiola had to use a back five including Claudio Bravo and Angelino as well as Fernandinho out of position.The landscape could not be more different for Sunday's encounter.

straight to your inboxPep Guardiola might have to break up his defence for the trip to Liverpool, despite eight clean sheets in the last nine outings.At Burnley this week, City used a back three of Aymeric Laporte, John Stones and Ruben Dias.

straight to your inboxJamie Carragher says Ruben Dias should become the seventh centre-back to be named PFA Player of the Year.The Manchester City defender has been a rock in defence since joining from Benfica in the summer, keeping eight clean sheets in his last nine Premier League matches to help Pep Guardiola's side to the top of the Premier League table.Dias has also formed a solid partnership with a rejuvenated John Stones and Carragher paid tribute to the way the former Everton defender

straight to your inboxAymeric Laporte insists he has happy at Manchester City but has hinted he might look to assess his future at the club if his playing time does not increase.Laporte has struggled with injury in different spells this season, while he also missed some games after isolating for Covid-19. Since being dropped after defeat at Tottenham, the Frenchman has struggled to disrupt the partnership of John Stones and Ruben Dias as City have gone 19 games unbeaten in all competitions.

straight to your inboxPep Guardiola has named a strong Manchester City side to face Burnley, with Aymeric Laporte picked at left-back. After Manchester United earned a record-equalling win last night, they moved level on points with City at the top of the Premier League, albeit having played two games more.

straight to your inboxPep Guardiola hailed the importance of Ruben Dias as he encouraged other defenders in the squad to learn from the summer signing.The 23-year-old from Benfica has had an unbelievable impact since joining for a club record fee at the end of September, with the team conceding just one goal more (seven) in the 18 Premier League games he has played in than in the two that he did not (one against Wolves and five against Leicester).Such a reversal has inevitably led to comparisons

straight to your inboxSeeing – and hearing – Ruben Dias in action has Gareth Barry harking back to his early days in the Manchester City dressing room.The former Blues midfielder was brought to the club in 2010 as an experienced 28-year-old who had played at a high level for Aston Villa for ten years, playing nearly 450 games.But it was a 23-year-old Vincent Kompany who startled Barry, whose own experience was a key reason City stumped up a bargain £12million for the England international.Both

straight to your inboxGary Neville has warned Manchester City that Liverpool could ride a similar wave of momentum to themselves following back-to-back Premier League wins.Pep Guardiola's side have risen to the top of the table after a run of 12 matches unbeaten, including nine victories. City's defensive record has been impressive too, with John Stones and Ruben Dias forming a fantastic partnership at centre-back, which has seen only two goals conceded during that run.

straight to your inboxPep Guardiola praised the fight of his Manchester City players as they defended as a unit to keep out Sheffield United. Ruben Dias led the defence superbly from the back to pick up another clean sheet that laid the platform for yet another Premier League victory for the Blues.

straight to your inboxPep Guardiola’s patience with his defence ran out in the defeat at Tottenham – and his axing of Aymeric Laporte has sent a powerful message to the rest of his squad.The Manchester City manager insisted this week that he has been delighted with the way his rearguard has reacted to last season’s traumas, buoyed by impressive new signing Ruben Dias and the revitalised John StonesAfter seeing his side rack up their 11th clean sheet from 19 Premier League games as they blitzed

straight to your inboxPep Guardiola has pinpointed the chemistry between Ruben Dias and John Stones, as well as their ability to cut out mistakes from last season, as the main reason behind their brilliant partnership at Manchester City.Guardiola was reflecting on City's season to date, with half of their fixtures completed in the Premier League. City are top of the table, recovering well from a poor start to go seventeen games unbeaten in all competitions.

straight to your inboxManchester City could go to the top of the Premier League with a win against West Brom on Tuesday, albeit temporarily, with rivals Manchester United in action on Wednesday.City will be without Kevin De Bruyne, Sergio Aguero, Nathan Ake and Kyle Walker for the trip to The Hawthorns this midweek, with Ruben Dias and John Stones set to start once again in the centre of City's defence.Bernardo Silva should drop into midfield alongside Ilkay Gundogan and Rodri, whilst Phil

straight to your inboxPep Guardiola felt that Manchester City needed more quality in the final third as they trailed Cheltenham Town in the FA Cup. The Blues were staring at the biggest upset of the manager's five years at the club when Alfie May stabbed home from a Ben Tozer long throw on the hour-mark, leading to first-team regulars Ruben Dias, Ilkay Gundogan and Joao Cancelo all being brought off the bench for the closing moments.

straight to your inboxPep Guardiola has told Aymeric Laporte what he needs to do to break up the partnership between John Stones and Ruben Dias. Laporte was sorely missed last season as Manchester City's title defence crumbled while he was out with a long-term injury, but the Frenchman has barely been used in recent months.

straight to your inboxJohn Stones has revealed how he revamped every aspect of his game in a bid to resurrect his Manchester City career.And the England defender says that his exciting new partnership with Ruben Dias has been the other key factor in his spectacular return to form.Stones scored twice in the 4-0 win over Crystal Palace, but more importantly, the clean sheet made it one goal against that pair in their last ten games together.Talk of Stones and Dias being one of the great Premier