Manchester City return to Premier League action this weekend when they take on Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

Manchester City will be hoping to apply further pressure on Arsenal in the Premier League title race this weekend when they travel to Chelsea. Pep Guardiola’s side will be confident after picking up two huge victories against the Gunners and Liverpool in cup competitions.

As for Liam Rosenior’s men, they are enduring a difficult season, with Champions League qualification hanging in the balance and the FA Cup their last credible hope of silverware. Chelsea could be without seven first-team players for this weekend’s game. Captain Enzo Fernandez will be missing after the club imposed a two-match ban on him for comments made during the international break. The midfielder suggested he would be open to joining Real Madrid in the summer transfer window.

Former City youth player Jamie Gittens will also miss this weekend’s game having suffered a hamstring injury at the start of February. Reece James has a hamstring problem and is in a race to return before the end of the season.

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Trevoh Chalobah was carried off on a stretcher in the defeat to Paris Saint-Germain. The centre-back is due to return in May, as is Levi Colwill, who has been out all season with a cruciate ligament tear.

Goalkeeper Filip Jorgensen has been missing since March after needing a minor operation on an injury. He may be back to feature in the matchday squad against City along with Benoit Badiashile, who has missed the last couple of games with an illness.

City’s injury picture looks a lot better with defence their only major concern. Josko Gvardiol broke his leg in the reverse fixture earlier this year and is a doubt for the World Cup.

Ruben Dias picked up a new injury on the eve of the Liverpool victory having missed the Carabao Cup final before the international break. John Stones has also picked up another knock.

On those injuries, City assistant head coach Pep Lijnders said: “Ruben got a knock in the last few minutes of training. We are assessing it.

“I think he has a scan [last Saturday] so we will have to see. John will not be long-term, I think, but he was not available for today.”

Manchester City pair Ruben Dias and John Stones were not involved in the FA Cup quarter-final victory over Liverpool on Saturday.

Manchester City pair Ruben Dias and John Stones are not expected to be long-term absentees after they missed the FA Cup quarter-final win over Liverpool.

City won 4-0 against Arne Slot’s side to ease into the last four and book a return to Wembley just a fortnight on from lifting the Carabao Cup under the arch with a 2-0 success over Arsenal.

Dias missed the win over the Gunners while Stones was among the subs before pulling out of international duty with England with a knock.

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Portugal defender Dias did not link up with his country. He had been taken off at half-time in the Champions League game with Real Madrid, having not looked comfortable.

Speaking after the win over Liverpool, City assistant Pep Lijnders – who conducted media duties with manager Pep Guardiola serving a touchline ban – said Dias had picked up a knock in training.

Lijnders also said that he didn’t expect Stones’ issue to keep him out long-term as the centre back seeks to prove his fitness in the closing weeks of the campaign for both club and country ahead of the World Cup.

Josko Gvardiol remains a long-term City absentee having not played since the Premier League draw with Chelsea in January. Guardiola hopes he will be ready to return before the end of the season, although the player will also be working towards being as ready as he can for the 2026 World Cup with Croatia.

Manchester City secured their first silverware of the season after beating Arsenal 2-0 in the Carabao Cup final on Sunday

Manchester City have entered the final international break of the season with fresh optimism after beating Arsenal 2-0 in the Carabao Cup final on Sunday. The victory and the manner of it has led many to back City to catch the Gunners in what would be a superb turnaround.

Regardless of whether or not they manage it, winning the League Cup is incredibly important for this group of players as they aim to replicate the dominance of the previous Pep Guardiola generation. With a new sense of confidence and belief, City will enjoy the next few weeks.

With the season heading towards an exciting crescendo, MEN Sport has taken a look at the six winners and losers from this campaign so far.

Winners

Nico O’Reilly

This is not merely recency bias, O’Reilly has enjoyed a brilliant year for the Blues. Guardiola hailed him as the ‘signing of the season’ after the Carabao Cup final and you can see where he was coming from.

O’Reilly is the latest midfielder who has had to adapt to playing left-back but he has done so, excellently. The 21-year-old provided cover when needed but has shown he is more than just a stand-in for City.

In midfield, he has performed well despite bigger names arriving in the summer. His brace at Wembley was just rewards for an impressive campaign.

Bernardo Silva

If this is to be his final chapter, Bernardo is looking to go out on a high. The original utility player for Guardiola has led by example this season and fully deserved to lift that trophy on Sunday.

Should he leave at the end of the campaign, expect Guardiola to shed a tear like he has when the likes of Sergio Aguero and Kevin De Bruyne left. The midfielder should be held in the same high regard as those club legends.

Winning silverware this season also means Bernardo’s time at City does not end on a sour note, regardless of what happens between now and May.

Gianluigi Donnarumma

Erling Haaland’s patchy form in recent weeks means he just misses out as being the third winner on the list to Donnarumma. The Italian goalkeeper has been sensational this campaign with his performance at Anfield just one that will live long in the memory.

He arrived as the anti-Guardiola goalkeeper in many ways. While his ability to play out from the back has been understated, he was never going to be the next Ederson.

Instead, he is one of the best shot stoppers in the world and this has led him to keep another sensational goalkeeper out of the team.

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Losers

James Trafford

That other sensational goalkeeper is Trafford. Having signed from Burnley, the 23-year-old would have felt he was going to be first choice, until Donnarumma came along.

He has had to make do with a lack of games but City’s performances in the FA and Carabao Cup has given him more minutes than he perhaps would have received. As is the nature of this season, even those who have lost out have had moments to shine.

Trafford’s moment was under the arch on Sunday and nobody could have been happier for him than Guardiola and Donnarumma.

Phil Foden

After a brilliant November into December period, Foden has gone off the boil for the Blues. He has not scored since the win over Crystal Palace in December and since the Manchester derby, he has been forced into cameo roles from the bench.

This season was expected to be the response after a difficult 2024/25 where fixture congestion took its toll. But it has not quite happened for the midfielder.

He is in the England squad for this international break but there is no guarantee he will go to the World Cup if he does not, a) play more games and b) contribute more goals and assists.

John Stones

Stones has also made the England squad this month but he won’t think his spot on the plane is guaranteed either. The centre-back has had a decorated career at City despite injuries plaguing his career.

This season, a thigh issue kept him out for two months and he has struggled to find a rhythm since. It is expected he will leave at the end of this campaign and whoever snaps up the 31-year-old will be getting a brilliant defender.

But injuries have meant this season has not been the potential farewell tour he deserved.

Manchester City stars John Stones and Savinho were both absent from the squad for the Premier League game with West Ham

John Stones and Savinho both missed Manchester City’s trip to West Ham as Pep Guardiola’s side looked to put their midweek disappointment behind them. The Blues were blown away 3-0 by Real Madrid at the Bernabeu in a Champions League game they went into looking to win.

Savinho was taken off at half-time and replaced by Tijjani Reijnders in that game, and while that was tactical the Brazilian is not deemed fit enough to travel to the London Stadium. He had felt his hamstring and so was not risked but is expected to be fit for the second leg against Real on Tuesday.

Stones felt his ankle in training so was also left out as a precaution. The England international started a week ago at Newcastle in the FA Cup and should be back in the squad for Tuesday, although there will be open training on Monday ahead of it where his injury status will become more clear.

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Those injury updates were given by Pep Lijnders, filling in for Pep Guardiola while the manager serves a two-game touchline ban following his sixth yellow card of the season at Newcastle. The City boss does not have to relinquish his media duties and spoke to reporters on Friday at the City Football Academy, but will be leaving it to Lijnders on Saturday night.

Lijnders will also be in charge for the FA Cup quarter-final against Liverpool next month. The disciplinary regulations do not cover the Carabao Cup, meaning Guardiola can be in the dugout for City’s trip to Wembley a week on Sunday.

City need to win at West Ham to keep pace with Arsenal in the Premier League as the title race nears its final straight. The Blues were held to a 2-2 draw at home to Nottingham Forest in their last league match and cannot afford to drop further ground.

John Stones is well versed in Manchester City vs Real Madrid Champions League ties and he believes Pep Guardiola’s squad have what it takes to compete on all fronts this season

John Stones didn’t watch the Champions League draw. Like many, he probably felt there was an inevitability that Manchester City would be reunited with Real Madrid.

The two teams are about to play for the tenth and 11th time in the last five seasons, meeting more than City have with several Premier League sides over the same period.

For Stones, meetings with Madrid have often told a personal story. In 2022 he came back too quickly from injury and was forced off injured in the first leg of the semi-final as City were beaten. A year later he played both legs of the last four clash when the Blues went on to lift the Champions League trophy, beating Inter Milan in the final with Stones imperious as City completed a treble.

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In 2024 he played through the pain barrier in the first leg having picked up an injury in the game and was ruled out of the second leg as a result. Last year injury struck again when he was forced off after eight minutes in the second leg and his season was over as a result. So what will the 2026 iteration bring?

“It’s another chance to prove our worth and get one over on them,” said Stones, speaking to TNT Sports Mexico. “I think going to the Bernabeu and playing Madrid is such a difficult task. That’s exciting in itself to go and overcome that.

“I don’t watch the draw, I get told who we get. I look at it in we can’t control who we get, we are going to have to beat whoever gets put in front of us and I relish the challenge that we’ve got.”

City have got a host of challenges in the next few weeks. If they overcome Madrid, it might be Bayern Munich and Vincent Kompany in the last eight. The FA Cup has yielded an Easter quarter-final with Liverpool, while a Wembley date with Arsenal looms large in the Carabao Cup final.

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The Blues have entered mid-March fighting on four fronts with a new-look squad. Stones is the longest-serving City player, so can he help his team-mates?

“It’s a difficult one to explain that to someone that is coming into it,” the defender said. “It’s more a feeling that they get and a standard that is set by players that have been through those situations. It’s down to us to keep setting those standards and those bars high and what is expected in these big moments.

“The odd word to the guys who haven’t been in these experiences or moments before can be settling at times, I remember when I was going through them. Just knowing that people like me, Ruben, Bernardo, the boys around them, is a comforting thing and everyone that has come through this club in the time I’ve been here has been a winner, it’s something deep down within them and they know how to get over the line.

“Everyone has had a different upbringing and path to get to where they are right now and all those combinations that put together are special. It’s an exciting time and hopefully we can help the boys through.”

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Manchester City have been battling some significant injury troubles across the team, with Pep Guardiola giving an update on Erling Haaland’s fitness situation after the Fulham game

The Premier League title race is heating up, as Manchester City applied pressure on Arsenal once again by picking up an important win in midweek action.

A first-half blitz from Pep Guardiola’s men saw them defeat Fulham, as goals from Antoine Semenyo, Nico O’Reilly, and Erling Haaland handed them victory at the Etihad Stadium.

With the gap at the top now down to just three points, it’s up to City’s title rivals Arsenal to respond, as they are in action on Thursday against an in-form Brentford side.

In the meantime, Guardiola will be keen to rally his troops once more, hopeful of avoiding injuries at a key time of the season when they can start to crank up the pressure on their rivals for the Premier League crown.

So, with that said, here’s a look at the latest City injury news, including an update on Haaland after the Fulham victory.

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Erling Haaland

City fans were left nervous over Haaland’s fitness after the goalscorer was substituted at half-time during his side’s win over Fulham.

Fortunately, Guardiola downplayed the issue after the match, as he told reporters: “Niggles. Some problems, he didn’t feel comfortable, it was 3-0.

“The reason why is too many games. Fatigue. He said ‘I don’t feel comfortable’. With 3-0 and with a lot of games and with having Omar [Marmoush], common sense.”

As a result, it’s unclear whether Haaland will feature against Salford in the FA Cup fourth round on Saturday, before City turn back to Premier League action against Newcastle the following weekend.

John Stones

After a spell out of the team through injury, John Stones finally made his return to the City squad again in midweek, featuring on the bench.

The defender was an unused substitute, while he could make an appearance against Salford in the FA Cup over the weekend.

Jeremy Doku

Jeremy Doku is still out through injury, having picked up a calf problem against Galatasaray in the Champions League earlier this season.

There is an expectation that he could return at some point this month, but it remains to be seen whether the recovery will meet that timeline.

Josko Gvardiol

City will be without Josko Gvardiol for the foreseeable future, with the defender picking up a tibial fracture in the clash with Chelsea.

There is hope that the Croatian international will be back at some point before the end of the season, with a few months left for him to make a return.

Savinho

Savinho has struggled to get going this season, having failed to get many minutes on the pitch with some proper momentum, as injuries continue to impact him.

The Brazilian winger was lined up for a possible return this week, but after failing to make the squad against Fulham, it’s unclear exactly when he will be available once again.

Mateo Kovacic

It’s been a tough campaign for Mateo Kovacic, who picked up an ankle problem in November, and has been unable to play for City ever since. A return seems unlikely until next month at the earliest.

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