Manchester City may face yet another challenge ahead of their crucial clash with Liverpool next Sunday.<\/p>\n
Pep Guardiola\u2019s team has endured a difficult run, losing their last five matches across all competitions, including a heavy 4-0 defeat to Tottenham at home over the weekend. This slump has left them eight points behind Liverpool in the Premier League title race.<\/p>\n
The absence of Ballon d\u2019Or winner Rodri, sidelined for the season with an ACL injury, has significantly impacted City, and now they could be without another key player for the trip to Anfield.<\/p>\n
John Stones Doubtful for Liverpool Clash\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n According to the *Liverpool Echo*, John Stones might miss the top-of-the-table showdown after sitting out training ahead of City\u2019s Champions League fixture against Feyenoord. The defender was substituted at halftime during the Tottenham match three days ago, raising concerns about his fitness.<\/p>\n City are already managing injuries to Oskar Bobb and Mateo Kovacic, although Ruben Dias and Jeremy Doku have returned to training after missing the Spurs defeat.<\/p>\n Stones\u2019 Potential Absence a Blow for City\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n While it\u2019s unclear if Stones will miss Sunday\u2019s match, his absence from training has drawn attention. The England defender, despite playing as a centre-back, is City\u2019s joint-second top scorer this season with three goals\u2014more than high-profile attackers like Bernardo Silva, Kevin De Bruyne, Jack Grealish, and Jeremy Doku.<\/p>\n If unavailable, Guardiola would lose a key figure in defense and a valuable set-piece threat, leaving City further weakened in a pivotal match.<\/p>\n Injury Concerns on Both Sides\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Liverpool are not without their own injury issues, meaning both teams will be missing key players in this highly anticipated clash. Despite the blow of Stones\u2019 potential absence, no one wants to see players sidelined by injury, and fans will hope his situation is not serious.<\/p>\n This encounter at Anfield could prove decisive in the title race, making the stakes even higher for both sides.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Manchester City may face yet another challenge ahead of their crucial clash with Liverpool next Sunday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":12854,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12851","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-football"],"yoast_head":"\n