Man City could be without five players vs Chelsea as Pep Guardiola delivers injury update

Manchester City could be missing five players against Chelsea in the Premier League this weekend. Head coach Pep Guardiola confirmed four players were definitely out of the clash, with Bernardo Silva facing a late fitness test.

Silva will be assessed in training on Friday to see if he can recover from a knock that he picked up in the 3-1 win over Copenhagen in the Champions League this week. Jack Grealish, who was also taken off in that game after pulling up early with a groin injury, is definitely out and will hope to return in the coming weeks.

Mateo Kovacic, Sergio Gomez and Josko Gvardiol were all absent from the matchday squad in midweek as they looked after their injuries. Gvardiol is out for a few weeks with an ankle ligament injury, and while the other two are back training there is uncertainty as to whether they will be ready for Saturday.

«Jack I think will not be ready and Bernardo will be assessed in the training session,» Guardiola said on Friday. «Kova is back training at least and Sergio is back. The rest we will see when we arrive.»

City have won their last 11 in a row in all competitions but Guardiola believes his team will face one of the most difficult games of the season against Mauricio Pochettino's Blues.

«It's an exceptional team in all departments — one of the toughest games we have until the end of the season. They're playing really good in the last games,» he said.

«They have everything — intense, quality. Most teams are defined if they are not able to lose the ball and it's difficult to find a player who can lose the ball.»

Chelsea travel to City for the Saturday evening clash at 5.30pm, with the game live on Sky Sports.