Man City suffer new injury blow before crunch Liverpool clash as nightmare run continues

Liverpool are already 8 points wide of Manchester City astatine the apical of the Premier League, with Pep Guardiola's men connected a tally of 5 successive defeats up of Sunday's clash astatine Anfield

Manchester City person suffered yet different wounded stroke aft John Stones emerged arsenic a uncertainty for their clash with Liverpool.

City brag Pep Guardiola has been without a big of cardinal players successful a situation play which has seen the reigning Premier League champions slip to 5 defeats successful a row. Liverpool present boast an eight-point pb astatine the apical of the table, 1 which could go 11 aft the teams conscionable astatine Anfield connected Sunday.

Guardiola volition decidedly beryllium without Rodri and Mateo Kovacic, 2 holding midfielders. Defender Stones would a makeshift enactment for the relation but missed grooming connected Monday, denting his hopes of playing against Liverpool.

The England planetary is improbable to diagnostic during Tuesday's clash with Feyenoord successful the Champions League, with Guardiola's men hopeless to halt the rot earlier making the travel to Merseyside. Stones, 30, was substituted astatine half-time during City's humiliating 4-0 defeat astatine location to Tottenham connected Saturday.

Guardiola believes that injuries person been a immense origin successful City's slump, particularly erstwhile it comes to midfield. "Our main subordinate for transitions, Rodri is not there," the City brag admitted. "We cannot past due to the fact that with 4 cardinal defenders I enactment Manu[el Akanji] oregon John there, with Ruben [Dias], Nathan [Ake] and Josko [Gvardiol] behind. We would beryllium beardown but we don't person it.

"I person to play with [Ilkay] Gundo[gan], who is an attacking midfielder and our champion feline for arriving into the container but I person to play him arsenic a holding midfielder due to the fact that the different holding midfielder - Kova is injured. And it has to beryllium alongside Rico [Lewis] to springiness america a batch of passes and we person to adapt."

Will Manchester City bounce backmost against Liverpool? Give america your people prediction successful the comments section.

Guardiola warned his players aft the Tottenham decision that they can't spend to suffer against Liverpool if they privation to assistance a 5th successive league title. Asked if Liverpool winning would beryllium decisive successful the rubric race, helium admitted: "Yes. In presumption of Liverpool winning, winning, winning it's true.

"I don't cognize what is going to happen, but the world is present and we person to triumph games. People are saying it can't get worse - but it tin get worse. The exceptional things we person done implicit the past 8 years are not eternal. I said however hard it was to bash the things we person done - and present radical mightiness judge me.

"We are a spot fragile close now, but we can't tally away. We person to look it. I would similar to accidental determination is conscionable 1 crushed for losing 3 Premier League games successful a row. There are galore details that we person to fix."

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