Again for Manchester City, it is a question of whether Rodri will be fit enough to return, this time for the visit of Sunderland.
The Spaniard has been struggling with a hamstring injury throughout the campaign, and keeps having his comeback pushed further and further back.
The 2024 Ballon d’Or winner has seen first-team minutes hard to come by in the last year, having suffered an ACL injury against Arsenal last season, which ruled him out for the remainder of the term.
He made his return over the summer at the Club World Cup, but a hamstring niggle has continued to trouble him.
Otherwise for City, Pep Guardiola has a full complement to pick from against the Black Cats, minus long-term absentee Mateo Kovacic, who has had ankle surgery.
A 5-4 win at Fulham highlighted City’s defensive frailties, and although it seems that Guardiola has settled on his preferred back four, he may be tempted to make some tweaks as a result.
Gianluigi Donnarumma will start in goal, but question marks remain over whether Josko Gvardiol and Ruben Dias will partner each other once more.
John Stones and Nathan Ake are the most likely replacements, with the City boss preferring natural central defender Abdukodir Khusanov as a right-back.
At full-back, Matheus Nunes has been solid on the right, and Nico O’Reilly has seemingly made the left-sided berth his own ahead of summer signing Rayan Ait-Nouri.
In the engine room, expect Nico to deputise for Rodri again, flanked by Bernardo Silva and Tijjani Reijnders, who netted at Craven Cottage.
Phil Foden seems back to his best off the right flank, and Jeremy Doku also found the net in west London.
Record-breaker Erling Haaland, who hit his 100th goal at the weekend, leads the line.
Predicted Man City XI (4-3-3): Donnarumma; Nunes, Dias, Gvardiol, O’Reilly; Silva, Nico, Reijnders; Foden, Haaland, Doku
Injured: Rodri, Kovacic
Venue: Etihad Stadium
Date and kick-off time: 3pm GMT on Saturday, December 6 2026
