Before Manchester City’s match against Liverpool, Pep Guardiola provides a major injury update on NINE players.

Pep Guardiola, the manager of Manchester City, has updated the fitness status of nine players in preparation for Saturday’s Premier League match against Liverpool.

Following the most recent international break, the Sky Blues resume play, where they face crucial upcoming contests against Liverpool, Tottenham, and Aston Villa, all of which are presently within three points of Manchester City.

At present, Pep Guardiola’s squad is in first place in the Premier League standings. However, they have lost three points so far this season, with the most recent occurrence occurring at Stamford Bridge, where Chelsea earned a point through an exciting 4-4 draw.

This weekend, Liverpool will visit the Etihad Stadium, where Manchester City has been undefeated at home since December 2022. Despite this, the Sky Blues have secured victory in only two of the previous seven meetings between the two North West rivals.

Since September, Jurgen Klopp’s squad has been unblemished in the Premier League. Prior to the international break, they defeated Brentford 3-0, following a draw with Luton Town and a loss to Toulouse in the UEFA Europa League.

In April, the last time the Merseyside club visited the Etihad Stadium, Manchester City defeated Liverpool emphatically by coming from behind by a score of 4-1.

Pep Guardiola is concerned about the fitness of a number of first-team stalwarts who participated in that triumph; nine of them are potentially sidelined by injury and could miss Saturday’s Premier League match.

Mateo Kovacic and John Stones are both expected to miss the matchday squad due to injury. Additionally, Nathan Ake, Erling Haalad, Ederson, Rodri, Sergio Gomez, and Matheus Nunes all sustained injuries prior to or during international duty.

Haaland, who entered the match having scored 17 goals in 18 appearances for Norway against the Faroe Islands (2–0), sustained another ankle injury.

Guardiola stated, “He [Erling Haaland] trained yesterday with some niggles, but hopefully he can make it to today’s final training session.”

Additionally, Pep Guardiola provided an update on the overall fitness of his squad prior to Saturday’s Premier League match, stating, “We, like many other clubs, have a few issues. We shall ascertain the outcome of the training session and tomorrow as well.

“By 6 p.m., I will have a definitive decision regarding which players I will have scheduled for tomorrow.” It’s always plan A.”

Kevin De Bruyne, who underwent surgery in August to address a hamstring injury and is expected to return to action in the new year, is ongoing rehabilitation.