‘We are in trouble’… Pep Guardiola admits Man City injury crisis amid Arsenal and Liverpool battle

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Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has confirmed that he only has 13 fit players available to him amid an injury crisis for the side.

It comes as the current champions battle with Arsenal and Liverpool to try and win the Premier League for a record fifth time in a row.

Mikel Arteta will be doing his best to stop that from happening, going close over the last few seasons but just missing out on lifting the ultimate prize.

The Gunners have had a slower start to the campaign than they would’ve liked, with a mixture of their own injury concerns and discipline causing problems.

They aren’t alone in that though, with rivals Man City handed a huge blow in midweek with yet more injuries.

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Manchester City injury crisis latest

Guardiola has already had some high-profile injuries dealt to him at Man City, with some of his key stars out of action.

Rodri is set to miss the rest of the season through an anterior cruciate ligament injury in his knee, which is a major blow to the side.

Kevin de Bruyne, Oscar Bobb, and Kyle Walker have all been out of action, while Jeremy Doku and Jack Grealish are all doubtful after missing recent matches.

Wednesday night’s encounter with Tottenham in the EFL Cup only added to that list. Manuel Akanji had to pull out of the team with an injury during the warm-up, while Savinho was stretchered off during the match.

Speaking after Man City’s defeat to Spurs, Guardiola told the media: “We have 13 players, we are in real difficulties.

“The guys that play, they finish most of them with problems and we’ll see how they recover. I think we are in trouble because in nine years we’ve never been in the situation with so many injuries.

“The players make a step forward, more together than ever, and we will try to do this week in this short time of recovery.”

The crisis for City has come at a time when there are some tough fixtures they will have to plot their way through to keep their lead at the top of the Premier League.

Difficult away clashes against Bournemouth and Brighton come either side of Champions League action with Sporting CP.

A return from the international break will then have Man City up against Tottenham, Liverpool and in-form Nottingham Forest.

It represents a real challenge to Guardiola in keeping the side ticking, but if they slip then Arsenal and Liverpool will be waiting in the wings to take over.

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Arsenal, Liverpool and Man City injury comparison

With such a congested fixture list, it’s fair to say that injuries and fitness could determine the outcome of the Premier League title.

For Arsenal, their own injury concerns have been largely concentrated on key players and in the defence, which has caused some concern.

The current list of injuries is starting to ease though, which may come at the right time for the Gunners, with Martin Odegaard one of the stars on his way back.

Liverpool’s injuries have them without four players who would be in and around the team for their Premier League title push.

Alisson Becker has been a key miss along with Diogo Jota and Harvey Elliott, while summer signing Federico Chiesa is yet to have a run of games.

Manchester City are suffering the most from their injury troubles, which leaves them down to nearly just one team of available options.

The current champions are clearly suffering the most from those injuries, though it remains to be seen if that will impact their season or not.