For Manchester City's Champions League match against Sporting Lisbon, Pep Guardiola believes he is down to 14 fit players. The Blues have a 5-0 advantage from the first leg of their last-16 encounter, but they have lost key players, including Kevin De Bruyne, who is just one booking away from a quarter-final suspension.
Joao Cancelo is suffering from illness, and with Kyle Walker still serving a three-match suspension for a red card against RB Leipzig, the Blues boss is without a right-back. With Ruben Dias and Nathan Ake still sidelined, John Stones and Aymeric Laporte are his only senior centre back options. That implies Luke Mbete, who has been on the bench, is being considered.Even yet, the manager refused to rule out the possibility of starting Fernandinho or a youngster at right back. When asked if Stones would be recast in the part, he said, "And who?" Maybe Fernandinho, we'll talk to some players, and we'll talk about the academy."
Guardiola also intimated that he is unlikely to risk De Bruyne, who would miss the first leg of the quarter-final if he received another yellow card, meaning James McAtee and Liam Delap, who are also believed to be in the squad, have a chance to play. Despite having to deal with his anguish over what is happening in Ukraine, Aleks Zinchenko is a foregone conclusion to start due to injury and medical issues.
Guardiola stated, " "He's all set. It's a trying moment. I believe he is now prepared in case he is called upon to play. We only have 14 players available, and we have a few issues with Kyle being suspended and Joao being ill and unable to play.
Manchester City Football Club is in training!!
"We had a fantastic first leg, winning 5-0, but we aren't done yet. To win the game, we'll go with a top team as much as feasible. [Ake] is also gone. We only have three defenders right now, which isn't much. We'll see what we can accomplish with the second team if we need to adapt."
When asked about De Bruyne and the risk he poses, Guardiola responded with a smile when asked if he will play: "Perhaps not. We'll have to wait and see." 'I think it's the next few days, but tomorrow is too risky, and with Ruben out for a long time, we can't afford to lose another centre-back,' he added of Ake. We'll rest after this game, but we can't afford to lose Nathan. The doctor advised me that it was too dangerous."
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