CITY WON’T RELY ON INJURY EXCUSES
IT’S safe to say that the international break hasn’t gone to plan for Pep Guardiola.
Injuries to Kyle Walker, John Stones and Manu Akanji have thrown a spanner the size of the Etihad in the works as City prepare for one of their biggest games of the season.
Instead of having a full squad yesterday ahead of Arsenal’s visit in the Premier League, at least two of the three defenders that would have been bang in contention to start on Sunday were having scans on issues picked up with their national teams.
The Blues have history of risking players with injury in big games but there’s nothing they can do about it if none of the three doubts can come through. There will be few violins for one of the richest squads in the world and – just as in the reverse game where Guardiola had to make do without Rodri and Kevin de Bruyne – the manager has to do the best he can to overcome the problems.
From a defensive point of view, a lot of the onus will fall on one of their most expensive signings and a freebie. Guardiola has barely used Rico Lewis in 2024, yet the academy graduate is surely the best bet at right-back.
Then there is Josko Gvardiol, a commanding young centre-back signed for £77.5m but who has been used almost exclusively at left-back at City.
He will surely play alongside Lewis, Ruben Dias and Nathan Ake, although it may make more sense to play Ake wide to deal with Bukayo Saka and have Gvardiol in his favoured and more natural position.
De Bruyne is expected to be fit and has shown before this season that he can make an instant impact, so he feels like an obvious choice alongside the must-haves of Rodri, Bernardo Silva, Phil Foden and Erling Haaland. That leaves just the one space left that will depend on how Jack Grealish has built up his fitness.
Grealish was part of the matchday squad against Newcastle after a couple of groin injuries, but didn’t link up with England because Gareth Southgate did not think he would be physically ready for the minutes.
If he has been able to build that up in Manchester over the past fortnight, he should be tipped ahead of Jeremy Doku or Julian Alvarez to try and bring the qualities he brought to the left wing last season when City swept all before them to win the Treble.