Man City v Fulham early team & injury news - four out and one doubt

Manchester City return to Premier League action this weekend following Tuesday’s Champions League win over Slovan Bratislava.

The Blues breezed to a 4-0 win in Slovakia with a heavily rotated side, as Ederson, Ruben Dias, Kyle Walker, Bernardo Silva and Jack Grealish dropped to the bench. All five could return to the starting line-up against Fulham, in what will be a challenging fixture.

Marco Silva’s side are unbeaten in five league games and last week’s win over Nottingham Forest means they sit just three points behind City in the early league table.

Fulham could also have a clean bill of health for Saturday’s game, with Carlos Vinicius the only injury concern. The Brazilian hasn’t featured this season and is struggling with a calf issue, although Silva said last month that Vinicius was close to returning and the striker might be available for the trip to the Etihad.

As for the champions, Pep Guardiola confirmed on Monday that Kevin De Bruyne won’t be back until after the international break. Therefore, City will most likely start with Phil Foden or Ilkay Gundogan in an attacking midfield role against Fulham.

Nathan Ake is also expected to return after the two-week hiatus in the club season and the defender hasn’t played since suffering an injury during the last international break.

Elsewhere, Oscar Bobb won’t be back until the new year and Rodri’s ACL injury has ruled him out for the remainder of the season. Saturday will offer another opportunity for Guardiola to try and find his perfect midfield combination in the Spaniard’s absence.

Injury list: Ake, Rodri, De Bruyne, Bobb (City), Vinicius (Fulham).