Manchester City head into Sunday’s EFL Cup final against Arsenal at Wembley Stadium with plenty to prove after a bruising week.
Pep Guardiola’s side were knocked out of the Champions League on Tuesday, losing 5-1 on aggregate to Real Madrid after a 2-1 second-leg defeat that also saw them reduced to ten men. While the defeat to Madrid would sting Pep Guardiola and his roaster deeply, but there is a trophy up for grabs against a side that has threatened the Cityzens’ domestic reins so they will be looking for a point to prove.
Pep Guardiola and co. has seen a few players return from injury in recent weeks, he will still be without two names for the clash with Mikel Arteta’s Gunners. One is a long-term absentee, the other a piece of cup competition paperwork.
We will take a look at how Arsenal’s opponent on Sunday will be looking like:
Manchester City team news vs Arsenal
Josko Gvardiol injury update ahead of the Carabao Cup final
Josko Gvardiol will miss out the game against Arsenal this weekend and the Croat has no return date in sight. He suffered a tibial fracture at the start of the year and required surgery for it. There is a real possibility that Gvardiol does not feature again this season.
For a City side that has had its defensive options light along the campaign, it will continue the first Cup final of the season as well given that he would have been a potent option marking out Bukayo Saka in that left back role.
Given how the week has gone, that is far from ideal preparation for a cup final against an Arsenal side who will arrive at Wembley full of confidence.
Marc Guehi cup-tied and ruled out of Arsenal vs Man City
The Marc Guehi situation is not related to an injury but it would still be a big boost for Gyokeres and company as the England international is cup-tied and unavailable for the game. He played for Crystal Palace earlier in this season’s League Cup competition.
Man City signed him after their semi-final first leg against Newcastle United in mid-January, which means he is ineligible to play in the final under competition rules.
What Man City’s injury list means for the Arsenal EFL Cup final
Two absences might not sound catastrophic on paper, but context matters here. City are coming off the back of a Champions League exit, a result that will have hit morale hard in the dressing room. Gvardiol has been a key figure when fit, and Guehi was brought in precisely for these kind of games.
Arsenal, meanwhile, will be well aware of the situation. Arteta’s side has the quality to exploit any weakness at the back, and City’s defensive setup on Sunday will require to be at its best if they are to keep the Gunners quite.
This is still a Manchester City team with a lot of experience in finals. But they will have to do it without two of their defensive options, and that is the reality Guardiola is working with heading into the weekend.
