Manchester City manager, Pep Guardiola has confirmed that John Stones will not be available when they face Real Madrid on Wednesday due to injury, Softfootball reports.
The England international was also absent when Manchester City defeated 10-man Sunderland 3-0 at the Etihad to cut the gap on top of the premier league to two from five points after league leaders, Arsenal suffered a 2-1 loss to Aston Villa at the weekend.
In Pep Guardiola’s interview shared via the official X handle of football expert, Fabrizio Romano, the Spaniard was emphatic during his squad update for the UEFA Champions League match-day 6 encounter. He said:
🚨🛑 Pep Guardiola: “John Stones is injured again. I don’t know how long he will be out for”. pic.twitter.com/VEcxaq5jKH
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) December 8, 2025Real Madrid lost 2-0 to Celta Vigo at the Santiago Bernabeu on Sunday night and are currently low in confidence as they went four points behind archrivals, Barcelona on LaLiga table after 15 matches played so far this season.
However, Real Madrid manager, Xabi Alonso will be banking on the form of UCL current topscorer, Klyian Mbappe to get a positive result against the Cityzens especially as they are playing in front of their home fans.
Manchester City will be hoping for a win to move into the top eight for an automatic qualification spot as they are currently placed ninth with 10 points while Real Madrid are fifth on the UCL table with 12 points.
