Manchester City face uncertainty in defence ahead of their Champions League meeting with Real Madrid after Pep Guardiola confirmed John Stones was omitted from the weekend line-up because of injury.

Stones has not been a regular starter in the Premier League this season, with Guardiola generally preferring the pairing of Rúben Dias and Joško Gvardiol at centre back. He remains an important member of the squad and has usually started Champions League fixtures instead. He even captained City in the defeat to Bayer Leverkusen on matchday five.

City sit ninth in the Premier League and require a positive result in Madrid to strengthen their claim for a top-eight league phase finish. Guardiola revealed after the Sunderland game that Stones’ absence was injury-related but provided no timescale for his return. “To be honest, I don’t know,” was the manager’s response when asked to provide a timeframe.

Sunderland was only the second match Stones has missed this season through injury, after he was also ruled out of September’s Manchester derby. The former Everton player missed large portions of last season with foot and hamstring problems and has not been fit for an entire campaign since 2020–21.

Stones has spoken openly in recent months about the mental toll injuries have taken on him. Addressing that struggle during the summer’s FIFA Club World Cup, he said: “It’s difficult when you’re injured,” he told reporters during the summer’s FIFA Club World Cup . “There’s been points where you think, you’ve been giving all this effort, you dedicate all your life, especially how I approach or go about my life, and football, I give everything, on and off the pitch to be here or be ready to play games and those are the dark days.”

In October he told BBC Radio 5 Live he had considered stepping away from the sport: “Last season was tough for me, to the point where I thought about stopping,” he said “I didn’t want to [continue]. I’d had enough of being so professional and trying to do everything right in my power, to then keep breaking down and not having the answers. It was a very difficult place to be in.

Erling Haaland made clear that Manchester City must look inward after a chaotic midweek victory that reduced the gap to Arsenal to two points. The forward, who described his own performance as “not good enough,” was unimpressed by a finish made nervy when Samu Chukwueze’s second running volley in the space of four minutes made it 5–4 with a quarter of an hour remaining.

The result took City to within two points of Arsenal at the Premier League summit before the leaders host Brentford on Wednesday. Upon receiving the Player of the Match award, Haaland was asked about the wider significance for the title race. “Of course, it’s important,” he told Sky Sports . “Arsenal came here and they won as well. So, we know how difficult it is to come here and Fulham is a great team.

“But again, we shouldn’t think too much about Arsenal,” Haaland warned. “We should focus on ourselves, try to improve and avoid things like this happen today, because it’s not good enough and we all know this and we need to improve as a team. That’s what our focus should be.”

Pep Guardiola struck a more upbeat tone after the near collapse. “It only happens in this league,” he giddily told Match of the Day. “We played a fantastic game… Listen, there was some really positive things in what we have done. To come here, to score five goals, and the way we played in that first half.

“In the end it was a question of character, resilience and defence. They did what they had to do.”

The match also provided another milestone for Haaland. After shattering Alan Shearer’s record in the race to a century, it was put to Haaland whether he could eventually surpass the former England captain’s all-time ranking of 260 Premier League goals. “I know about it,” the 25-year-old shrugged, “but I don’t think too much about it.”

If his scoring run continues at close to a goal per game, it would take a little more than four further seasons to reach that mark. City have tied him to a contract that doesn’t expire until 2034. For now, the former Borussia Dortmund frontman was chiefly concerned with the chances he missed against Fulham and with the collective improvements his manager and team demand.

Manchester City face immediate uncertainty in goal after two goalkeepers are reportedly considering moves in January. James Trafford, the club’s £31 million summer signing, and Stefan Ortega both appear to be weighing exits after sudden changes to the pecking order.

Trafford began 2025–26 as Pep Guardiola’s starter, selected ahead of Ederson, but early shaky performances, including a chastening defeat to Tottenham Hotspur, unsettled supporters. A quirk of the transfer saw City receive £4 million back from Trafford’s deal because of a sell-on fee inserted when he left Burnley in 2023.

Events moved quickly on Deadline Day when Manchester City took Gianluigi Donnarumma after Paris Saint-Germain decided to move on from the Italian. The 2025 Yashin Trophy winner was slightly cheaper than Trafford and has started every Premier League game since his arrival. Ederson left for Fenerbahçe as part of the process to create the space for Donnarumma.

The change left Trafford in a difficult position. His only subsequent appearances have been in the Carabao Cup and a 2–0 defeat to Bayer Leverkusen. The Daily Mail reports Trafford is now looking at the January window, having been told when he arrived that he would be No. 1. It had been hoped the move might help his bid to challenge Pickford for England’s starting berth going into the 2026 World Cup, but his relegation to a backup role could put that at risk.

Newcastle United remain a possible destination after the Magpies were beaten to Trafford’s signature in the summer transfer period. Eddie Howe’s side instead brought in Aaron Ramsdale on loan from Southampton, but Nick Pope retained the No. 1 role.

Stefan Ortega also reportedly intends to leave. The German made 56 appearances in the three seasons before 2025–26 and has been relegated to third choice, not even making the bench since the opening day of the Premier League campaign in August.

Compounding City’s goalkeeping concerns, Donnarumma has been booked four times in 10 Premier League appearances, three cautions for dissent and one for timewasting. He is one booking away from a one-game suspension under the current accumulation rules, with the split-season reset due after the 19th gameweek.