Manchester City captain Kyle Walker is likely to be left out of the squad for tonight’s Premier League clash against Brentford.
The City defender has requested a transfer out of the club and reports suggest he is close to signing a deal with AC Milan.
Walker was not in the matchday squad for the 8-0 thrashing of Salford City in the FA Cup over the weekend, with Pep Guardiola revealing the shock development afterwards.
Amid interest from teams in Saudi Arabia as well as both Milan clubs, the Man City boss has stressed there is no update with regard to the 34-year-old’s future.
Asked in the pre-match press conference as to whether Walker will be involved against Brentford, Guardiola responded: “I will decide in the afternoon, after training.
“I said what I said. I’m not going to add anything else. I don’t have any news, so it’s Brentford on my mind.”
Regardless of the Walker decision, Guardiola is expected to recall a number of key Man City players for the trip to west London.
Stefan Ortega, Rico Lewis, Josko Gvardiol, Bernardo Silva, Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland are all pushing to start after being rested at the weekend against Salford.
Meanwhile, there is a decision to make in the wide areas as Jack Grealish and Jeremy Doku were both on the scoresheet against Salford but Phil Foden netted in the league win over West Ham and Savinho has been in fine form of late.
With John Stones and Ruben Dias not expected to return from injury, Manuel Akanji and Nathan Ake are likely to resume their central defensive partnership after each playing a half each in the FA Cup tie.
Predicted Man City XI: Ortega; Lewis, Akanji, Ake, Gvardiol; Kovacic, De Bruyne, Silva; Foden, Savinho, Haaland
Doubts: Walker
Injured: Dias, Stones, Bobb, Rodri
Time and date: 7.30pm GMT on Tuesday 14, January 2025
Venue: Gtech Community Stadium
TV channel and live stream: TNT Sports
