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Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola returns to Arsenal's Emirates Stadium on Sunday with a raft of injury issues to contend with as these two Premier League title contenders face off in north London.
After a difficult start to the Premier League campaign prior to the international break, City have returned to form this week. A comfortable 3-0 victory over fierce rivals Manchester United followed by a 2-0 win over Napoli in their Champions League opener has set the Blues up nicely.
Meanwhile, Arsenal have enjoyed identical results against Nottingham Forest and Athletic Bilbao meaning the meeting on Sunday is final poised. If City were looking to cast themselves as underdogs for the fixture, they would use their treatment room as evidence of their status.
Omar Marmoush's knee injury suffered on international duty has ruled him out for the remainder of September and he is now aiming to return for the beginning of October's fixtures. As for new signings Rayan Cherki and Rayan Ait-Nouri they are both likely to be ruled out of the trip to the capital.
Cherki's thigh injury is the more serious of the two and he is looking likely to be back for the end of October. As for his full-back teammate, he is a doubt for the fixture but could sneak his way onto the bench.
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Meanwhile, Mateo Kovacic has yet to feature for City this season and he will more than likely be back after the October international break as he recovers from surgery to his achilles. There are some positive signs for the Blues.
John Stones has been back in training this week and while his recovery from a muscular injury was not complete for the Champions League clash in midweek, he is thought to be ready to join the matchday squad to face Arsenal. As for Rodri, the Ballon d'Or winner missed nearly the entirety of last season due to an ACL injury suffered against the Gunners at the Etihad Stadium.
Guardiola has been understandably keen to manage the Spaniard's playing time as he returns from injury and it is touch and go whether the midfielder will be deemed fit enough to start a third match in a row this week at the Emirates Stadium. One thing is for certain, all these injuries are doing little to relieve the pressure on the Catalan head coach.
City will be desperate for a victory to remain in the battle with their title rivals. But, should Arsenal keep the three points in north London, they will move just a win behind Liverpool who defeated Everton 2-1 in the Merseyside derby on Saturday.
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