Man City vs Chelsea team and injury news - six ruled out & six doubts for FA Cup clash

Manchester City meet Chelsea for the second time in just four days when they face off in Sunday’s FA Cup third-round tie on Sunday.

Pep Guardiola’s men came away from Stamford Bridge with three points thanks to a 1-0 win on Thursday, despite City being well below their usual standards. Riyad Mahrez’s goal three minutes after he was introduced from the bench settled proceedings and ensured City reduced Arsenal’s lead at the top of the table to just five points.

Guardiola is expected to make changes for the FA Cup clash, although the midweek EFL Cup fixture against Southampton could also impact the Catalan’s thinking for this weekend. He also has a relatively strong squad to choose from, with just two doubts heading into the game.

“Ruben [Dias] is out. Aymer [Laporte], we will see today at the training session,” Guardiola said on Wednesday, with both players ultimately missing out on the trip to the capital, and could still be on the sidelines this weekend. Dias has a hamstring issue and Laporte is suffering from a back problem.

While Guardiola has only a few short-time injury concerns, Graham Potter is facing a plethora of problems. He lost Mason Mount in the build-up to Thursday’s league clash, while Raheem Sterling and Christian Pulisic had to come off with knocks during the game.

“Raheem, first action in the game. So it was a strange one, a backheel,’ Potter said after the match. “And then obviously Christian is full pelt and it’s a cross or a shot and it is contact with his knee. Fingers crossed it is not too bad.”

All three are therefore doubts for the game, as is Ruben Loftus-Cheek, who was close to being involved in midweek but just missed out due a calf problem. Meanwhile, long-term absentees Edouard Mendy, Wesley Fofana, Ben Chilwell, N’Golo Kante and Armando Broja will not be back in time for the trip to Manchester. Youngsters Lewis Hall, Carney Chukwuemeka, Omari Hutchinson could come in to start given Chelsea’s injury issues.

Ruled out: Mendy, W.Fofana, James, Chilwell, Kante, Broja (Chelsea)

Doubtful: Laporte, Dias (City); Loftus-Cheek, Mount, Pulisic, Sterling (Chelsea)