Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has confirmed that defender John Stones is "not ready" to return for Saturday's Manchester derby against rivals Manchester United in the Premier League at Old Trafford.
Stones missed the 2-0 EFL Cup quarter-final defeat at Southampton on Wednesday night as he was not deemed fully fit for the trip to St Mary's.
The 28-year-old will now miss the derby clash against the Red Devils, while there is an outside chance that Ruben Dias – who has not played since the World Cup due to a hamstring injury – could return to the matchday squad after Guardiola stated at his pre-match press conference that "everyone else is fit" apart from Stones.
The chances of Dias starting seem unlikely, though, having spent several weeks on the sidelines, with Aymeric Laporte, Manuel Akanji and Nathan Ake all set to compete for a starting place in central defence; the latter is also in contention to start at left-back ahead of Joao Cancelo and Sergio Gomez.
Kyle Walker operated as a centre-back in the first half against Southampton, a tactical alteration that ultimately did not pay off for Guardiola, and the experienced defender is expected to switch back to right-back on Saturday, starting ahead of teenager Rico Lewis to counteract the threat of Man United's in-form attacker Marcus Rashford.
In midfield, Kevin De Bruyne is set to be recalled to the first XI after beginning the last two games on the substitutes' bench, while Rodri is poised to start ahead of Kalvin Phillips, who was handed his full debut in the deep-lying role on Wednesday. Either Bernardo Silva or Ilkay Gundogan will likely complete the midfield three.
Top scorer Erling Braut Haaland, who netted a hat-trick in the 6-3 home triumph against United in October, is expected to lead the line up front, while Phil Foden, who also scored three against the Red Devils last time out, faces competition from Riyad Mahrez, Jack Grealish and Julian Alvarez to join the Norwegian in attack.
Manchester City possible starting lineup: Ederson; Walker, Akanji, Laporte, Ake; De Bruyne, Rodri, Bernardo; Mahrez, Haaland, Grealish
> Click here to see how Manchester United could line up for this contest
Oliver Thomas
