Manchester City have been given a triple boost ahead of their mouth-watering Carabao Cup tie against Liverpool on Thursday.
After a break in the domestic season for the Qatar World Cup, the English football calendar returns this week with as big a fixture as they come, as Jurgen Klopp's men lock horns with the Sky Blues in a fourth-round match at the Etihad Stadium.
None of City's five England representatives have returned to first-team training and all are expected to be missing for the match against the Reds, but Pep Guardiola has welcomed back three other World Cup participants this week who will be in the mix for a starting berth.
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Kevin De Bruyne and Ilkay Gundogan had already returned to the fold after the surprise group stage exits of Belgium and Germany respectively, but they have now been joined by Dutch centre-back Nathan Ake, Swiss defender Manuel Akanji and Rodri, who played all five games for Spain before their elimination.
The Netherlands exited the tournament at the quarter-final stage, while both Switzerland and Spain were dumped out in the Round of 16. Rodri partnered club teammate Aymeric Laporte for the Spaniards, but the latter was not spotted at City's training session on Monday.
Despite the returning trio, City still have a number of big name absentees and Klopp will be hoping that the Liverpool's reduced involvement in the latter stages of the tournament in Qatar will give them the edge when it comes to facing the Sky Blues at the Etihad on Thursday.
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