“It’s over for us, Arsenal will win the league”- HUGE BLOW as Pep Guardiola has stated that Manchester City amazing superstar has suffered a HUGE injury damage after critically damaging his ankle in their match last night against Chelsea

Manchester City surrendered their advantage, dropped crucial points, and potentially suffered even greater setbacks within a critical 41-minute window on Sunday, as key defensive players Josko Gvardiol and Ruben Dias picked up injuries before Enzo Fernandez secured a dramatic late equalizer for Chelsea in a 1-1 stalemate at the Etihad Stadium.

With an already packed fixture schedule and an extremely demanding January ahead, Pep Guardiola’s squad now faces a six-point deficit behind Premier League leaders Arsenal.

Typically, such a gap wouldn’t pose a significant challenge for a Guardiola-led Manchester City side, but the trajectory of multiple trophy campaigns could dramatically shift if the manager’s assessment proves accurate and the team will be without their two premier center backs for “several weeks.”

“With a full complement of players, you can maintain competitiveness and rotate the squad, but our current situation is what it is. I’m powerless to alter it. Naturally, I’m worried—did you observe our substitutes’ bench today? Three youth academy players, and that number will likely increase. We’re simply short on available personnel, that’s the reality.”

After all, City have already been managing without AFCON participants Omar Marmoush and Rayan Ait-Nouri. They’re now facing critical depth problems in two vital positions. Beyond center back, where John Stones was already sidelined before the Gvardiol and Dias setbacks, City’s midfield is also missing Mateo Kovacic. Guardiola was forced to deploy Rodri for the entire match on Sunday—fortunately, his performance was excellent—while Nico Gonzalez recovers from a minor leg ailment.

Guardiola made just three substitutions on Sunday—bringing on Abdukhodir Khusanov and Nathan Ake to replace Gvardiol and Dias, and introducing Jeremy Doku for Tijjani Reijnders—as his remaining options were Rico Lewis, Stephen Mfuni, Divine Mukasa, Ryan McAidoo, and Reigan Heskey. Lewis has seen diminished playing time this campaign, Mukasa is 18 years old, and the remaining three players are all 17.

Additionally, City could manage with Nico O’Reilly—a fullback more in designation than practice—thanks to the reliability and strength of Gvardiol and Dias. The upcoming weeks will reveal whether Matheus Nunes can provide similar stability at right back.

This raises one crucial question: Can Manchester City successfully navigate this month without significant transfer reinforcements?

**Manchester City’s January: What’s on the line?**

Starting with the positive aspects: Nico Gonzalez should return imminently and there’s optimism surrounding Stones’ potential comeback as well. Kovacic might remain unavailable until February, but Savinho and Oscar Bobb could be ready within a fortnight, coinciding with when Ait-Nouri and Marmoush might return from AFCON (Both Algeria and Egypt face quarterfinal matches within the next day or two).

Their upcoming schedule appears relatively manageable for a brief period. If there’s encouraging news regarding Gvardiol and Dias, particularly if Ait-Nouri’s Algeria exit AFCON early, the situation may remain controllable. However, if the medical reports are concerning, well…

Here’s City’s fixture list for the coming month:

Let’s examine it competition by competition.

**Champions League:** City sit fourth in the Champions League standings with four wins, one draw, and one loss. That positions them one point above the playoff positions. Bodo/Glimt have struggled at 0-3-3 but haven’t suffered humiliating defeats. Galatasaray remain unbeaten, having defeated Liverpool but also surprisingly lost at home to Union-Saint Gillioise.

**FA Cup:** Guardiola will almost certainly field a youth-heavy lineup at home against Exeter City, who currently occupy 14th position in League One and are struggling to find the net regularly. With a Brighton trip and Newcastle semifinal first leg bookending their third-round matchup, City should adopt the old Jurgen Klopp strategy and field a team largely devoid of Premier League regulars. The silver lining? Victory won’t burden them with another fixture during this punishing stretch, as the fourth round is scheduled for mid-February.

**League Cup:** Pep might adopt a cautious approach in the opening leg at St. James’ Park, where Newcastle are formidable and City have historically struggled recently. City’s record at Newcastle since August 2022 stands at just one win against two draws and two losses, including a 1-0 League Cup third-round defeat to the Magpies. The return leg also falls directly between two challenging Premier League away fixtures—Spurs and Liverpool—so Guardiola might choose to deprioritize this tournament entirely.

**Premier League:** This presents the greatest challenge. Three of the next five matches over approximately the next month are away fixtures against traditional Big Six opponents: Manchester United in two weeks, followed by Spurs and Liverpool in the opening eight days of February. Home encounters with Brighton and Wolves appear more favorable and are conveniently positioned in the schedule.

**Manchester City’s January: Are transfers necessary?**

Let’s presume City successfully acquire Semenyo, adding a dynamic forward who provides the team with another tactical dimension for opponents to consider.

Should this week’s Dias/Gvardiol injury scare prompt the acquisition of additional defensive reinforcement?

Both Stones and Ake are in their thirties, and City’s backup options at both fullback positions are currently young and inexperienced beyond Gvardiol and Khusanov—players they may require at center back.

One could argue City must learn from last season’s lessons and recruit someone capable of operating at both left and right back when needed. Nunes, Lewis, and Khusanov were among City’s few negative differential players last Premier League campaign (O’Reilly, incidentally, was positive at +0.51 goals per 90 minutes). This season has fewer underperforming players than last year, but Nunes (-0.08 g/90) and O’Reilly (a team-low -0.79 g/90) remain among them.

It’s practically inconceivable to envision this City squad not having a significant vulnerability at one fullback position in any major match this season. Even if Stones, Dias, and Gvardiol are healthy, that might address left back but still leaves the team with Nunes, Khusanov, or Lewis starting crucial matches at right back (Guardiola, naturally, might deploy anyone there given his fondness for tactical surprises in big games).

City were reportedly interested in Spurs’ Pedro Porro last month, but it would be remarkable if Thomas Frank sanctioned that transfer without having a replacement already secured, making it unlikely to materialize quickly at minimum. The same reports mentioned Newcastle’s Tino Livramento, but the Magpies certainly wouldn’t part with him mid-season.

Another report indicated Feyenoord teenager Givairo Read is a long-term right back target, but at 19 years old, he doesn’t address the immediate concerns.

Can Pep capture the title with a fullback roster of Ait-Nouri, O’Reilly, Nunes, and Lewis? While not impossible, imagining City succeeding with that defensive configuration and other limitations seems highly improbable. City should be proactive this month as they attempt to maintain pressure on the title-inexperienced Arsenal throughout the harsh English winter.