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Jack Grealish misses Manchester City’s match against Liverpool due to illness.
The England foreigner played for his national team this week and returned to training with the Blues, but was left out of the squad for one of the most important games of the season after being ill. That left Pep Guardiola with the undeniable choice of opting for Jeremy Doku. on the left wing, who started ahead of Grealish at Chelsea before the foreign break but is fighting for a place in the squad when either of them is fit.
Matheus Nunes and Mateo Kovacic are also out due to injuries sustained over the past fortnight, joining Kevin De Bruyne on the bench. That means City are four first-team players and for the second game in a row they have not been able to call up a full bench.
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However, City have been boosted by the news that John Stones is available again and fit enough to be involved in the squad against Liverpool. Stones is on the bench for the lunchtime kick-off but news of his availability is huge given Guardiola had initially feared the defender would be out for much longer.
Sergio Gómez and Nathan Ake also return from their respective injuries, City have seen 3 players return from problems while another 3 have retired. Guardiola made a substitution in the 4-4 draw with Chelsea, with Nathan Ake replacing Josko Gvardiol.
CITY XI: Ederson; Walker, Akanji, Dias, Ake; Rodri, Bernardo; Foden, Alvarez, Doku; Haaland.
Substitutes: Ortega, Phillips, Stones, Gómez, Gvardiol, Carson, Bobb, Lewis.