Pep Guardiola's plan to replace John Stones is more bad news for Kalvin Phillips' Man City future

For the first time this season at the fourth attempt, Manchester City won a game where Rodri didn't play.

Rested against Young Boys in the Champions League, Rodri watched his teammates ease to a 3-0 win with John Stones pushing up from centre-back and Mateo Kovacic dropping in to marshall the defensive midfield area. Even when Stones withdrew at half-time, City looked comfortable without Rodri - albeit against ten men.

Pep Guardiola confirmed after the game that Stones has picked up a recurrence of the injury that caused him to miss ten games at the start of the season, bemoaning that City played so well without Rodri because of Stones, and now the centre-back is out again. Curiously, he then named two defenders as other players who can help protect Rodri - in far more enthusiastic terms than specialist defensive midfielder Kalvin Phillips.

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"Now we are in trouble," Guardiola said on Tuesday. "We will have to play a bit differently [when Rodri doesn't play], like Arsenal, it is not comfortable. Not change many variations.

"Kalvin played some really good minutes, Nathan [can play] in that position or Manu. They can play it. They have stability, control in transitions. Manu or Nathan can play perfectly."

So if Guardiola is looking to Ake or Akanji to step into midfield, where does that leave Phillips? He started just one of three games when Rodri was suspended recently, not featuring in the biggest against Arsenal. When Rodri was rested against Young Boys, Stones' return saw him preferred in a system that also had Kovacic, Rico Lewis and Matheus Nunes. That puts Phillips sixth