The Dutch defender limped off midway through the second leg of City’s Champions League quarter-final tie with Bayern Munich on Wednesday night with what appeared to be a hamstring strain, with Aymeric Laporte brought on in his place.
While City are still waiting to learn the severity of the injury, manager Pep Guardiola has confirmed that Ake, who has shone on the left of the back-three system used in recent weeks, will not be involved today.
“He’s not ready for tomorrow, but I don’t know how is the damage,” Guardiola told reporters on Friday. “I think today they make the final test to know exactly what he has.”
Guardiola once again emphasised that there were plenty of tired legs in the City squad after the Bayern match, suggesting that he would only be able to make decisions on team selection once he had seen his players in training.
Changes can be expected though, particularly with Arsenal to come in a potential title-decider in midweek, with Stefan Ortega likely to start in goal as he has done throughout the FA Cup run this season.
Kyle Walker and Laporte could both come in, while Rico Lewis is an option to replace John Stones in the hybrid midfield should Guardiola stick with the same system that has been serving City so well of late.
Riyad Mahrez will be hoping to return to the starting XI as well after missing out against Bayern, while Phil Foden will once again be in the squad as he pushes to make his first start since the quarter-final win over Burnley last month following surgery for appendicitis.
“He was on the bench in Munich after two training sessions following two, three weeks without training,” Guardiola said of Foden. “Every day that passes he’ll be better.”
Predicted Man City XI: Ortega; Walker, Dias, Laporte; Lewis, Phillips; Mahrez, De Bruyne, Alvarez, Grealish; Haaland.
