The Man City unsung hero who has inspired return to form

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 could call two academy players up for Manchester City's FA Cup trip to Cheltenham, and use the opportunity to bring back a number of players from injury or the fringes.With Kyle Walker, Sergio Aguero and Kevin De Bruyne out, Guardiola might have to alter some of his plans against the League Two minnows.

straight to your inboxPep Guardiola has challenged his Manchester City players to find another irreplaceable quality to make up for losing Kevin De Bruyne.City's talented playmaker could be missing for up to six weeks with the hamstring injury he picked up against Aston Villa in midweek in what has been the biggest setback to their season since the major Covid outbreak in the squad last month.However, the Blues found a way to win without him on Wednesday and are in excellent form in the Premier

direct to your inboxAn ever-changing Premier League title race has taken another twist as Manchester City talisman Kevin De Bruyne has been ruled out for the next month.City have gone from eight points behind Liverpool before Christmas to four ahead of the Champions with a game in hand and two behind Manchester United.

straight to your inbox Kevin De Bruyne will be out for up to six weeks to hand Manchester City another blow to their Premier League title hopes. The Blues discovered yesterday that Sergio Aguero faces an undetermined spell out after testing positive for Covid-19.

straight to your inboxKevin De Bruyne has played down fears over the long-term nature of his injury while speaking to a gamer on Twitch.De Bruyne limped out of Manchester City's win over Aston Villa, and is expected to be out for a fortnight, putting his participation against Liverpool on February 7 in doubt.

straight to your inboxPep Guardiola was left hoping on Wednesday night that the injuries that forced Kyle Walker and Kevin De Bruyne off against Aston Villa will not be too serious.Manchester City continued their good form, winning their sixth straight league game and ninth in all competitions to reach the Premier League summit for the first time this season thanks to late goals from Bernardo Silva and Ilkay Gundogan.However, they had to make do without two of their starting XI for long spells.

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

straight to your inboxPep Guardiola kept bringing up Manchester City's dropped points against Crystal Palace in previous meetings ahead of Wednesday's game as he urged his team to improve. With the magical boot of Kevin De Bruyne and an inspired John Stones, the players responded to the message and a 4-0 win at the Etihad gave them their first home victory over Roy Hodgson's side in over three years.

straight to your inboxPep Guardiola could not find the words to express Kevin De Bruyne's brilliance after another majestic assist helped Manchester City on their way to a 4-0 win over Crystal Palace.Crystal Palace were making life difficult for the hosts before a brilliant ball from the right spun into the box from De Bruyne and was headed in by John Stones for the opening goal.

straight to your inboxJohn Stones has opened up about his Manchester City transformation - and revealed how Micah Richards helped him.Stones has come in from the cold to form a blossoming central defensive partnership with Ruben Dias in Pep Guardiola's side. The pair kept another clean sheet as City beat Crystal Palace 4-0 at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday night.

straight to your inboxPep Guardiola may be refusing to look publicly beyond the next game but Manchester City are building a title challenge.A hard-fought 1-0 win over Brighton on Wednesday night was their fourth consecutive Premier League victory and lifted them into the top four for the first time this season; they sit a point behind Liverpool and four behind United but have a game in hand on the teams above them, who also play each other at the weekend.City's manager is insistent that the

straight to your inboxPhil Foden caught the eye again for Manchester City in their Premier League clash with Brighton & Hove Albion. The England international opened the scoring just before half-time in Wednesday evening's match against the Seagulls at the Etihad Stadium.

straight to your inboxPep Guardiola has suggested that Kevin De Bruyne will continue to be Manchester City's penalty taker despite not dusting himself off to take the spotkick that he won against Brighton. City were struggling to see out the win against a gutsy Brighton side but were given a golden opportunity when Kevin De Bruyne was fouled in the box late on.

straight to your inboxPep Guardiola was able to rest some of Manchester City's key players against Birmingham, and his second half substitutions could indicate who is in line to start against Brighton on Wednesday.Raheem Sterling, Ilkay Gundogan and Oleks Zinchenko were rested completely, while Joao Cancelo, Ruben Dias, John Stones and Kevin De Bruyne all played 45 minutes in City's straightforward FA Cup win at the weekend.