Why Jack Grealish is not in Man City squad vs Fulham and Kyle Walker axe explained

Manchester City were set to take on Fulham with a fully-fit squad, but Pep Guardiola's preparations for the must-win Premier League clash were dealt a blow with the absence of Jack Grealish at Craven Cottage.

City have only arrived at two games all season with no injury or fitness concerns, and were hoping to compete in back-to-back fixtures with no setbacks for the first time all season. However, Grealish was not among the City players arriving at Fulham, with Pep Guardiola persisting with the front line who faced Wolves last week.

Grealish had been on the bench for that fixture, and would have hoped to stake a claim for a starting spot for the final four games of the campaign. After this game, City take on Tottenham on Tuesday night, before returning to the Etihad against West Ham on the final day and then facing Manchester United in the FA Cup final.

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The official reason for Grealish's omission was that he is not well, which could also place his involvement at Spurs in four days' time in doubt.

Pep Guardiola said: Yes (he’s okay). He felt in the last moment not well and a little bit ill but he’s fine."

The sight of John Stones on the bench for a sixth game in the last seven is also something of a concern, with that one start ending at half time for fitness reasons. Ruben Dias, however, did return after a spell on the bench due to illness, with Kyle Walker dropping out and Manu Akanji moving over to right-back.

On the thinking behind starting Ruben Dias, Guardiola added: "Nothing specific. Kyle didn’t train for the last two days. We have a game on Tuesday and Ruben is so reliable in these types of games. That is why I have decided on that."