Jeremy Doku can raise Jack Grealish question when Man City play Crvena Zvezda

Jack Grealish was one of Manchester City's most important players last season and remains integral to Pep Guardiola's plans. When he returns from injury, it is unlikely to imagine him being shifted from the starting XI for big games.

However, Jeremy Doku showed on Saturday in just his second start for the club that he can be serious competition as an alternative. On top of the weird negativity around Grealish that has been bubbling away online for a few weeks, fans can now see many positives in an exciting winger designed to get them off their seats in a way that nobody has really done since Leroy Sane's brief heyday.

Every inroad that Doku can make while Grealish is injured will raise his chances of actually pressuring the England international for a starting berth when they are both available. A home game against beatable Champions League opponents looks like an excellent opportunity off the back of a star turn at West Ham.

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Guardiola issues injury update with four players out

Guardiola could not name a full nine substitutes at the weekend, so the chances of him listing 12 on Tuesday are going to be slim at best. Injuries to four players have depleted a squad that was already about as thin as it could be when competing in multiple competitions, with the manager already suggesting he will not be putting a full-strength team out at Newcastle in the Carabao Cup.

Now that City are playing a game every few days, Guardiola will surely have to use substitutes more often as well. It will be interesting to see if the likes of Erling Haaland and Julian Alvarez last the 90 minutes with a game against Nottingham Forest to come at the weekend.

Matheus Nunes popped