Manchester City trio left out of Champions League squad for Copenhagen clash

Manchester City trio Mateo Kovacic, Josko Gvardiol and Sergio Gomez have all been left out of Pep Guardiola's 21-man travelling squad to Denmark for Tuesday's Champions League last-16 first-leg tie against Copenhagen.

Both Kovacic and Gomez were unavailable for the Citizens' 2-0 home win over Everton in the Premier League on Saturday, while Gvardiol watched on as an unused substitute.

All three players were then absent from a 15-minute open training session held on Monday morning ahead of the team's flight to Copenhagen.

Man City have since announced their 21-man travelling squad to Scandinavia and none of Kovacic, Gvardiol or Gomez have been selected.

It is thought that both Kovacic and Gvardiol have picked up minor injuries, while the reason for the absence of Gomez – who has missed City's last two Premier League games against Brentford an Everton – remains unknown.

Kovacic and Gvardiol – two summer signings – have featured regularly in their debut seasons with the Citizens, with both players making 27 appearances in all competitions.

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Gomez, meanwhile, has struggled for game time under Guardiola this term, featuring just 10 times in all tournaments, although four of his appearances have been in the Champions League, including two starts.

Guardiola did not provide a fitness update on his squad at a press conference on Monday ahead of the trip to Copenhagen and instead discussed the challenges that his City side could face against the Danish outfit.

The absence of Kovacic, Gvardiol and Gomez has seen City call up two academy prospects in the form of Mahamadou Susoho and Jacob Wright, the latter of whom was on the bench against Everton last time out.

Guardiola also has plenty of senior names at his disposal including striker Erling Haaland, who scored twice on his first home start in two months in the victory over the Toffees.

Haaland won the Champions League Golden Boot last season after netting 12 times in City's triumphant campaign, and he is currently the joint-top scorer this term with five group-stage goals to his name.

City's No.9 scored twice against Copenhagen in a 5-0 home victory last season, although Guardiola's side were forced to play out a goalless stalemate in the reverse fixture, something that the Champions League holders will be keen to avoid on Tuesday.

Manchester City's 21-man travelling squad in full:

Goalkeepers: Ederson, Stefan Ortega, Scott Carson

Defenders: Rico Lewis, Kyle Walker, Manuel Akanji, Ruben Dias, John Stones, Nathan Ake

Midfielders: Rodri, Jacob Wright, Mahamadou Susoho, Matheus Nunes, Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva

Attackers: Jack Grealish, Jeremy Doku, Phil Foden, Oscar Bobb, Erling Haaland, Julian Alvarez