It's that time of the season again, where domestic football takes a break and Pep Guardiola holds his breath and hopes that none of his Manchester City internationals return to the Etihad with new injury problems.
Guardiola has already lost Kalvin Phillips with a shoulder injury, with the England midfielder withdrawing from Gareth Southgate's squad last week, and Aymeric Laporte also still recovering from surgery. That leaves 17 first-team players who will be representing their countries in the coming days, with many fighting for a place at the World Cup in November.
However, World Cup squads are not the only thing on the line, with some players able to use the next two international games to prove a point to either Guardiola or their national team manager.
