Manchester City eased to a 5-0 victory over Newcastle at the Etihad earlier today but the win came with its consequences as Pep Guardiola confirmed defenders John Stones, Kyle Walker and Ruben Dias will not feature again this season.
Stones and Walker didn’t feature against Eddie Howe’s side at all whilst Dias was replaced by Fernandinho at half time.
Losing players is never ideal for any manager, but losing three defensive figures all at once at such a crucial time of the season will concern many City fans.
The Spanish boss may now be forced to utilise his younger defensive options.
Conrad Egan-Riley, the 19-year-old Academy graduate, was introduced into the action with four minutes of action remaining and he’s now expected to feature in all of the remaining three games.
Difficult trips to Molineux to face Wolves and the London Stadium to face West Ham are on the horizon for the Cityzens and their defence will be very much a makeshift one in the coming weeks.
Let’s hope them sides can take advantage of City’s mismatch defence and take some points from the Manchester outfit to help us out in our title pursuit.