Pep Guardiola admitted on Friday that injuries to key defenders have left Manchester City in a ‘difficult situation’ ahead of their English Premier League game against rivals Manchester United.

The Sky Blues will be without Ruben Dias, John Stones, and Josko Gvardiol, leaving them with the out-of-favour Nathan Ake and the inexperienced Abdukodir Khusanov to rely on in central defence for Saturday’s derby.