Manchester City will not have Ruben Dias back for this weekend’s showdown with Chelsea in the Premier League.
The Portuguese centre-back sat out both the Carabao Cup final win over Arsenal and last weekend’s demolition of Liverpool in the FA Cup quarter-finals, having previously made seven appearances since returning from a hamstring injury suffered against Chelsea in January.
Dias played only 45 minutes of the Champions League last-16 second-leg defeat by Real Madrid with another hamstring issue and did not feature at Wembley, where Marc Guehi’s ineligibility and the continued absence of John Stones led to Abdukodir Khusanov and Nathan Ake lining up in central defence.
It was Khusanov and the returning Guehi paired together against Liverpool, with City assistant boss Pepijn Lijnders subsequently revealing that Dias had sustained another knock in training on the eve of the game and been sent for a scan.
Dias will not be ready to face Chelsea, though Stones could take some part in training ahead of the match. Josko Gvardiol is still some way off returning from a broken leg suffered against the Blues in January.
“Dias is getting better,” Pep Guardiola said on Friday. “He’s not ready for Sunday.
“Today maybe Stones will do partial training, we’ll see. Gvardiol is getting better but still he isn’t close. Mateo Kovacic is fine.”
Gianluigi Donnarumma will be back in goal against Chelsea after deputy James Trafford’s cup exploits against both Arsenal and Liverpool, with Matheus Nunes and Carabao Cup final hero Nico O’Reilly as the likely full-backs - though the latter has also been deployed plenty in midfield by Guardiola this term.
In that instance, Rayan Ait-Nouri would be the man drafted in at left-back.
Rodri and Bernardo Silva should feature again in midfield, with Silva’s exit from City on a free transfer in the summer now confirmed. Nico Gonzalez could come in if a freshen up is needed.
Guardiola will surely be tempted to stick with the same attack that thrashed Liverpool thanks largely to a hat-trick from Erling Haaland, who was well supported by the trio of Antoine Semenyo, Rayan Cherki and Jeremy Doku.
Phil Foden, Tijjani Reijnders, Savinho and Omar Marmoush are all potential alternatives going forwards.
Predicted Man City XI (4-2-3-1): Donnarumma; Nunes, Khusanov, Guehi, O’Reilly; Rodri, Silva; Semenyo, Cherki, Doku; Haaland
Doubt: Stones
Injured: Gvardiol, Dias
Time and date: 4.30pm BST on Sunday April 12, 2026
Venue: Stamford Bridge, London
How to watch: Sky Sports
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