By Betsefy
Manchester City could be without three players for their Champions League home encounter against Copenhagen on Wednesday night.
The Citizens were without both Rodri and John Stones for their impressive 6-3 victory over Manchester United on Sunday due to injury, while Kyle Walker limped off just before half time in this fixture with discomfort in his lower leg.
Stones is expected to miss out with his hamstring issue, while Pep Guardiola is unlikely to risk the other two for Wednesday’s game, with Ilkay Gundogan potentially filling in for Rodri one again in a deeper midfield role – Kalvin Phillips is also sidelined with a shoulder problem which further enhances Gundogan’s chances of a start here.
In the absence of Walker and Stones, Joao Cancelo is expected to switch over to right-back, while Sergio Gomez – who came off the bench to provide an assist against United – could be handed a start at left-back.
Guardiola opted to select Nathan Ake and Manuel Akanji at centre-back in the Manchester derby, but both Ruben Dias and Aymeric Laporte will be pushing to start against Copenhagen – the latter of whom came off the bench for his first appearance of the season last weekend after undergoing knee surgery over the summer.
Playmakers Kevin De Bruyne and Bernardo Silva are expected to retain their places in the middle of the pitch, but there could be changes made by Guardiola in the forward areas.
The Spanish boss has admitted that goal machine Erling Braut Haaland – who netted a record-breaking hat-trick against United – will be rested at some stage this season when he feels the time is right, but the Norwegian is still expected to lead the line on Wednesday.
Phil Foden – who also scored a hat-trick last weekend – will be battling to keep his place in the final third along with Jack Grealish, with Riyad Mahrez, Julian Alvarez and Cole Palmer all hoping to force their way into the first XI.
Manchester City possible starting lineup: Ederson; Cancelo, Dias, Ake, Gomez; De Bruyne, Gundogan, Bernardo; Mahrez, Haaland, Grealish
