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Manchester City will hope that Jeremy Doku can return against Sunderland with four players already ruled out of the game
Jeremy Doku could return for Manchester City against Sunderland as Pep Guardiola looks for his injury problems to ease. City have 10 games over the next 32 days across four competitions and the manager will need as many players as possible to guide them through.
Doku's return will help, with the Belgian winger having missed the last few weeks with a muscle injury picked up in the 2-1 Champions League win over Real Madrid at the Bernabeu. Having sat out matches against Crystal Palace, West Ham and Nottingham Forest, Doku could be back in the squad for the Sunderland game.
Rodri is also expected to be part of the group at the Stadium of Light after he returned to the squad for the Nottingham Forest game. The midfielder has been out for two months with a hamstring injury but returned at Forest and will be available again on New Year's Day after training with the Blues.
John Stones and Oscar Bobb remain sidelined with their respective issues and will not be fit for the Sunderland game. Omar Marmoush and Rayan Ait-Nouri are both away with their national teams at the Africa Cup of Nations as their absences continue.
However, Guardiola will hope that Doku can mean he is only missing four for their trip to the north-east as City look to keep pace with Arsenal at the top of the Premier League table. The leaders thrashed third-placed Aston Villa 4-1 on Tuesday night to move five points clear having played a game more.
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