Pep Guardiola looks set to be without Dias for the title showdown, though Nico O’Reilly has been passed fit after his recent injury scare.
Manchester City will be without Ruben Dias for Sunday’s meeting with Arsenal, but Pep Guardiola has at least been able to welcome Nico O’Reilly back into contention before the latest title showdown.
Dias will not be available this weekend and his ankle injury is expected to keep him out for the rest of April. There had been some hope he could recover in time for the Arsenal game after missing the League Cup final with the problem he picked up in City’s Champions League exit to Real Madrid, but that is no longer thought likely.
City are also still without Josko Gvardiol, while there are doubts over John Stones.
Even so, the situation is not as severe as it might first appear.
Since signing Marc Guehi in January, City have had another natural option available at centre-back, while Abdukodir Khusanov and Nathan Ake also remain fit, leaving Guardiola with enough cover to field a proper central defensive pairing against Arsenal.
The more positive news for City concerns O’Reilly. The left-back had been a doubt after suffering a hamstring problem last week, having been forced off in the second half of the win over Chelsea, but Guardiola confirmed on Friday that he is fit.
Speaking at his press conference, Guardiola said O’Reilly was “fine”, but added that Dias was “not ready”.
That is a significant boost given O’Reilly’s growing importance to City over the few months. In total, he has has contributed nine goals in 46 appearances this season, including the two he scored against Arsenal in last month’s Carabao Cup final.
Away from defence, City are not expected to be missing any midfielders, wingers or forwards against Arsenal, and their goalkeepers are also fit and available.
The injury concerns are concentrated almost entirely at centre-back, and even there Guardiola’s side have already been managing with absences in recent weeks.
The wider significance of Sunday’s game was not lost on Guardiola either. With City trying to close the gap at the top, the manager accepted the scale of the occasion when asked whether the match amounted to a final.
“Yeah, obviously,” he said.
“If we lose, yeah, it’s over.
“But the other two results knowing Arsenal didn’t win against Bournemouth, still they have games to play.
“Six games is a lot in our calendar.
“Everton away, Bournemouth away, Aston Villa the last game at home, Palace of course and Brentford home.
“Crystal Palace what’s going on and Aston Villa in Europe, so still many things to do.”
You can read about Arsenal’s injuries, which are, as usual, much more significant than City’s, here.
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