Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola will hope all his players have fully recovered from recent knocks, ahead of this weekend’s FA Cup final.
The Premier League champions will aim to make it a double when they meet Manchester United at Wembley in the first all-Manchester final, but the Blues’ preparations have been impacted by a wave of injuries over the last few weeks.
Four players - Manuel Akanji, Ruben Dias, Kevin De Bruyne and Jack Grealish - missed City’s final Premier League match of the campaign as they lost 1-0 away to Brentford. While Guardiola claimed after the game that all four ‘will be ready’ in time for Wembley, he also revealed Dias and Grealish hadn’t trained in 10 days.
There was a positive update this week, however, as all four returned to training, while Nathan Ake, Aymeric Laporte, John Stones and Phil Foden all seem to have fully recovered from recent niggles.
But the concern for Guardiola will be whether Dias and Grealish are fully up to speed having missed three consecutive matches and a large chunk of training. Both players have been integral to City’s incredible form over the second half of the campaign and have been regular starters.
Should Dias miss out on the starting line-up, Akanji or Laporte look the most likely options to start alongside Stones at the heart of defence. As for Grealish, the in-form Foden appears to be the most obvious replacement if the ex-Aston Villa star is deemed not fit enough to start.
With all that in mind, here’s how we think City will line up in Saturday’s FA Cup final…
1. GK: Ederson
Has played just 45 minutes in the competition this season but should start. Stefan Ortega is another option for Guardiola.
2. RB: Kyle Walker
Ended the season in good form and could have an interesting battle against Marcus Rashford or Alejandro Garnacho.
3. CB: Ruben Dias
Should come back into the team and has been City’s most reliable defender in recent months.
4. CB: John Stones
Could push into midfield when City get the ball.