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FootballMan City vs Arsenal: 7 City Players Who Could Miss Crucial Clash in Potential Blow for Pep Guardiola
- Manchester City face Arsenal in one of the biggest games of the Premier League
- Pep Guardiola may have to face the Gunners with several absentees
- City could be without up to seven players for the clash on Sunday, March 31
Pep Guardiola is sweating over the fitness of several of his players just days to a crunch Premier League clash against Arsenal.
Touted as a potential title decider, the Cityzens host the league leaders with just one point separating the two teams.
Neither team can afford to drop points, but City will go into the game at a slight disadvantage thanks to the fresh injury concerns to some of their players.
Man City’s injury woes
John Stones was the latest big name to be listed as a doubt for the Sunday game, as the defender was forced off injured whilst on international duty.
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Stones lasted just nine minutes and had to be forced off during England’s clash against Belgium at Wembley, and there are lingering doubts about his fitness.
He joins Kyle Walker, who also suffered a setback while playing for England during The Three Lions’ game against Brazil on Sunday, according to The Mirror.
Another defender, Manuel Akanji, withdrew from the Switzerland squad with a knock, per Sky Sports.
With all these concerns in defence, Guardiola could be forced to go with a makeshift backline with Nathan Ake on the left while Ruben Dias holds brief at centre back. Josko Gvardiol is also likely to be called back into the lineup.
Is De Bruyne available?
Perhaps the biggest potential miss for Manchester City will be Kevin de Bruyne, who was left out of international duty with groin problems.
Grealish is also fighting against time to be fit, and City fans will be glad to know these two players took part in training this week and are in contention to play on Sunday. The bigger doubt, however, is Grealish, who has not started a game since late February.
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FootballBelow is a comprehensive list of City players who could miss the game against Arsenal:
Player | Injury suffered |
Ederson | Knock/Thigh injury |
John Stones | Knock |
Manuel Akanji | Knock |
Jack Grealish | Groin |
Kyle Walker | Knock |
Kevin de Bruyne | Groin |
Matheus Nunes | Knock/Foot injury |
John Stones and Kyle Walker replacements
Sports Brief also reported on the players who could replace Stones and Walker should the duo fail to start on Sunday.
Guardiola will almost certainly be forced to tweak his tactics, with the likes of Matteo Kovacic and the lesser-known Mahamadou Susoho likely to get called upon.