Liverpool star could need surgery ahead of Man City while 16-goal man to miss Aston Villa but is 'close'

Manchester City have a huge clash against Real Madrid in the Champions League on Wednesday night with another big fixture on the horizon in the Premier League. Pep Guardiola’s side will be aiming to turn around a 3-2 first-leg deficit against the La Liga giants in the Spanish capital.

City will be out of the Champions League if they fail to win on Wednesday. After their clash against Madrid, they will then shift their focus to a Premier League encounter with league leaders Liverpool. The Reds visit the Etihad Stadium on Sunday afternoon with Arne Slot’s side aiming to maintain their lead at the top of the table while City will be out to strengthen their position in the top four after a 4-0 win over Newcastle United last weekend.

Liverpool injury concerns ahead of City

Liverpool boss Arne Slot revealed on Tuesday that defender Joe Gomez might need surgery on a hamstring injury ahead of the Reds’ trip to Manchester. Gomez has not played since coming off injured against Plymouth Argyle in the FA Cup. The Merseyside club are also in action on Wednesday night as they visit Aston Villa in the Premier League. Cody Gakpo, who has 16 goals in all competitions this season, will not play against Villa but could return against City as he is ‘close’ to completing his recovery.

Slot said of his current injury problems a few days out from playing City: “I think both [Gakpo and Gomez] are not available for tomorrow. Cody is close to being back and Joe will take quite a long time. He is going to be out for numerous weeks because of a hamstring injury.”

On Gomez, Slot added: “He tries everything to be with the team. He works really hard to come back and then first game when he came back, after two or three minutes we saw him making a sprint and now he is out for weeks again.

“That’s always very hard for a player in every part of the season, let alone in the part of the season that everybody is looking forward to. He will a miss large part of the end of the season but we expect him to be back in the end phase of the season. He might [need surgery] but that is something we still have to assess.”

Erling Haaland injury latest

City striker Erling Haaland has travelled with the squad for Wednesday’s clash with Madrid. Concerns over the player’s fitness arose after he was taken off due to a knee problem in City’s 4-0 win over Newcastle on Saturday. Jack Grealish was also in the squad after he was forced off in the first leg against Madrid.

“Yes, they travelled. We will see tomorrow but it's good news they are here obviously,” Guardiola said. “Jack was able to play a really good game in the [at Leyton Orient] but after he doesn't have the consistency to play three games a week, he was not able to do it. Hopefully, now he is able for the last few months of the season he can get it.”

On the challenge awaiting his side in Madrid, Guardiola said: “You have to make an almost perfect game, obviously. The result is not the perfect situation. We have to attack and score goals, this is the idea. We will have to play an almost perfect game to go through. It’s the same going to Arsenal or Liverpool right now or Barcelona, the big teams qualified for the top eight, it is quite similar.

“It will be tough going away. Especially after the result we took in the first game. [We must] Play with courage. Be yourself. I learned that as a young player when we didn’t get results. Play with incredible courage and play to win the game, otherwise always you can lose but you must be yourself. When we did well here it is because we played to win the game. We have no alternative because of the result in the first leg.”

In other news, City could 'enter bidding war' with rivals Manchester United for midfielder previously compared to Kevin de Bruyne.