Phil Foden may be forced to play against West Ham in his best position by Man City.

When Manchester City plays West Ham in the Premier League at the London Stadium, they may have to deal with injuries and fitness issues once again.

Three of Pep Guardiola’s first-team players aren’t at Manchester City, despite his return.

Due to injury, John Stones and Jack Grealish were not present with the England team; they are both expected to return during the international break. However, neither participated in any exercise on Thursday, indicating that they are not quite ready to return from their individual muscle injuries.

Mateo Kovacic, who has missed the past two matches for Croatia due to a slight back issue, was also absent on Thursday. He may be in for a little period of time on the sidelines, according to reports in his home nation. Guardiola will update the media on the trio on Friday.

City’s midfield options are limited without Kovacic and Kevin De Bruyne, who is already sidelined. Although he has only trained with him for three days, Matheus Nunes, a recent addition to Guardiola’s squad, might be called up. Meanwhile, despite doing well for England on Tuesday, Kalvin Phillips has never been trusted in a difficult Premier League match.

Bernardo Silva, who can play in midfield and is adaptable to a variety of positions, will likely take Kovacic’s place. When chosen, Bernardo has, however, primarily played off the right wing and has excelled there. The wide choices are limited if Grealish is absent, and Jeremy Doku is probably going to play left again.
If Grealish and Kovacic are unavailable, Julian Alvarez might once again be required to play just behind Erling Haaland despite arriving from a high altitude qualifying match in Bolivia on Tuesday. This would only be owing to a lack of players.

The only remaining player is Phil Foden, whose place has been hotly debated ever since Gareth Southgate refused to commit to playing him centrally because he doesn’t play there for City.