Pep Guardiola confirms Man City injury latest before Chelsea clash

Man City resume their Premier League title challenge with a tricky fixture against Chelsea this weekend

Pep Guardiola has confirmed that none of his injured Manchester City players are in contention to return against Chelsea .

Man City make the trip to Stamford Bridge on Sunday hoping to make it three straight wins in all competitions either side of the international break.

However, despite beating Arsenal in the Carabao Cup final and thumping Liverpool 4-0 in the FA Cup quarter-final, City have been held in their last two Premier League matches - against Nottingham Forest and West Ham.

Those draws mean Man City could kick-off in west London 12 points behind leaders Arsenal should they beat Bournemouth at Saturday lunchtime.

Guardiola, who will be back on the touchline this weekend after serving a two-game ban, is set to select from the same pool of players that featured in the FA Cup tie.

This is because Ruben Dias and Josko Gvardiol are not yet ready to return from hamstring and leg injuries respectively, though John Stones remains a doubt.

"He is getting better but he is not ready for Sunday,” Guardiola said on Dias in the pre-Chelsea press conference on Friday.

On Stones, the Spaniard said: He will maybe do partial training today."

Ruled out: Ruben Dias

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Gvardiol, meanwhile, has not featured since the reverse fixture against Chelsea at the Etihad Stadium at the beginning of the year when he suffered a right tibial fracture in the 1-1 draw .

The Croatia international has stepped up his recovery in recent weeks with the aim for a return to action before the end of the season, though the Chelsea game comes too soon.

“He is getting better too but still he is not close,” Guardiola said.

Former Blues midfielder Mateo Kovacic is “fine” as he seeks his first minutes October having been an unused substitute in each of Man City’s last four games.