Gabriel Jesus and Aymeric Laporte did not make the Manchester City squad for their Premier League game with Southampton.
Pep Guardiola was able to name a 20-man matchday selection for the first time this season after changes voted through this week to allow nine substitutes - although, to the club's annoyance, there is still only a maximum of three changes allowed during the game.
However, the City boss did not name either Jesus or Laporte among his group with both deemed not fully fit according to the club website.
Pre-match, Guardiola told the media that Jesus "had a condition in his teeth in the last game and he's not available."
The omissions mean that Laporte misses yet another game, having not been selected since the Premier League defeat to Tottenham last month where he was deemed culpable for at least one of the goals. Jesus, meanwhile, misses his first game since the 1-0 win over Sheffield United back in October. He has played over 10 hours of football since his last goal for the club.
John Stones returns to partner Ruben Dias in central defence as the 26-year-old continues his purple patch, while Ferran Torres and Bernardo Silva come into the front three alongside Raheem Sterling.
City kicked off the Premier League game 11 points off top spot in the table after leaders Liverpool thumped Crystal Palace in the early kick-off. Guardiola has challenged his players to put a run together to build a platform for a title challenge, although they have drawn their last two matches.
