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Manchester City returned to winning ways against Wolves at the weekend, a result that ultimately closed the gap at the top of the Premier League after Arsenal lost a thriller against Manchester United at Emirates Stadium.
Focus now returns to the Champions League, where a 3-1 defeat at Bodo/Glimt last week left City outside the top eight among a clutch of teams on 13 points.
Realistically, Pep Guardiola's team need a win from their reunion with former Etihad Stadium crowd favourites Ilkay Gundogan and Leroy Sane to qualify directly to the Round of 16.
Injury issues around Guardiola's squad have eased slightly over the past week, although City still look defensively very thin.
Erling Haaland was benched after one goal in his past eight matches for the Wolves game and Omar Marmoush marked his return to the starting lineup with the opener in a 2-0 victory. Guardiola might pair his two former Bundesliga stars in attack here.
Man City injury list
Below is the latest injury picture for Manchester City, and estimated return dates for those who are sidelined.
Nico Gonzalez
- Injury: Dead leg
- Expected return date: January 28 (vs. Galatasaray)
Nico has not featured since he suffered "an incredible knock" during the 1-1 draw with Brighton on January 7. Rodri's absence against Galatasaray means City are likely to pull out al the stops when it comes to getting the former Porto and Barcelona midfielder back on the field.
Josko Gvardiol
- Injury: Tibia fracture
- Expected return date: May/June
Man City suffered a brutal blow in the 1-1 draw with Chelsea, as the opening match of 2026 brought with it terrible news. Defender Gvardiol, who has been a pillar of consistency for City in recent seasons, went down in the second half with a tibia fracture, confirmed by the club the following day.
City confirmed that Gvardiol underwent surgery for the broken leg. While there is very little known at this point about a potential timeline for Gvardiol's return, it is believed to require a long-term recovery, and it's possible he will miss the remainder of the 2025/26 season.
Ruben Dias
- Injury: Hamstring
- Expected return date: February
Josko Gvardiol wasn't the only casualty of the 1-1 draw with Chelsea on January 4, as Dias also found himself withdrawn before full-time. Guardiola said he was facing between four and six weeks out of action.
Savinho
- Injury: Undisclosed
- Expected return date: February/March
Guardiola said the injury to Savinho "does not look good" after the winger had to exit early in the draw at Sunderland. After the Brighton game, Guardiola said the timeline for the Brazil winger was between one and a half to two months.
Oscar Bobb
- Injury: Hamstring
- Expected return date: February
Bobb started the season as City's first choice on the right wing but has fallen from favour. A chance to enjoy some game time in the Carabao Cup quarterfinal against Brentford was curtailed by a hamstring injury. It's not expected he will be back until the end of the month, and even then, there is speculation he could leave before the transfer window closes.
Ahead of the game against Bodo/Glimt, Guardiola was asked about Bobb's prognosis and tersely replied: “I don’t know, I have no idea. He says he’s not fit, so he’s not fit.”
John Stones
- Injury: Thigh
- Expected return date: February
England defender Stones has been peripheral in the Premier League this season but had started four of five Champions League matches prior to the trip to Real Madrid in December.
He came on in midfield during the unhinged 5-4 win at Fulham on December 2 and has not featured since. Stones is nursing an unspecified leg injury and was expected to return at some stage during the festive fixtures, but Guardiola said on January 6 that he has "no idea" when Stones will be back.
Mateo Kovacic
- Injury: Heel/ankle
- Expected return date: February/March 2026
Croatia midfielder Kovacic underwent Achilles surgery over the summer but has suffered a serious setback.
After the 3-1 win over Bournemouth on November 2, Guardiola said the former Chelsea player would be "out for a while".
"He still has a problem with the ankle, a little calcification still there. We'll wait on him for the last part of the season," the City boss added. Croatian newspaper Sportske Novosti confirmed the news and said Kovacic's recovery was likely to take three to four months.
Man City suspension list
Rodri
- Competition: Champions League
- Length of ban: One match
Rodri collected two bookings in the space of a minute shortly after Rayan Cherki had pulled a goal back at Bodo/Glimt to all but extinguish City's hopes of a comeback. How his teammates fare in his absence will decide whether his next Champions League match is in the knockout playoffs or the last 16.
Antoine Semenyo and Marc Guehi
- Competition: Champions League
- Ineligible
City's January signings cannot be added to their Champions League squad until the knockout stages.
Man City predicted lineup vs. Galatasaray
Formation: 4-1-4-1
Donnarumma (GK)
Nunes, Khusanov, Ake, O'Reilly
Nico
Cherki, Foden, Silva, Marmoush
Haaland
Man City fixture schedule: Next five games
Notoriously tricky trips to Tottenham and Liverpool sandwich the second leg of the Carabao Cup semifinal against Newcastle. Guardiola's men hold a 2-0 advantage from the first leg.
- Man City vs. Galatasaray | UEFA Champions League | Wednesday, January 28
- Tottenham vs. Man City | Premier League | Sunday, February 1
- Man City vs. Newcastle | Carabao Cup | Wednesday, February 4
- Liverpool vs. Man City | Premier League | Sunday, February 8
- Man City vs. Fulham | Premier League | Wednesday, February 11
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