Stones to miss City v Spurs due to thigh injury
Nicolas Otamendi will partner Aymeric Laporte at the heart of the Manchester City defender versus Tottenham, with John Stones ruled out.
John Stones missed out on Manchester City's squad to face Tottenham due to a thigh injury, the Premier League champions have confirmed.
England international Stones lost his starting place during the closing months of last season but was selected by Pep Guardiola for the Community Shield triumph over Liverpool and the 5-0 thrashing of West Ham last weekend.
Nevertheless, Nicolas Otamendi will partner Aymeric Laporte at the heart of the City defence against Spurs on Saturday, with Stones on the sidelines.
"John Stones has suffered a rectus femoris strain and will miss today's game at home to Tottenham Hotspur," read a club statement.
"The defender will be assessed and a prognosis is likely next week."
The line-up to kick-off our @premierleague home campaign! XI | Ederson, Walker, Otamendi, Laporte, Zinchenko, Rodrigo, Gundogan, De Bruyne (C), Sterling, Bernardo, Aguero Subs | Bravo, Jesus, Silva, Fernandinho, Mahrez, Cancelo, Foden @haysworldwide #MCITOT #mancity pic.twitter.com/2821WtGycp
— Manchester City (@ManCity) August 17, 2019
Otamendi comes in as one of four changes made by Guardiola, with club captain David Silva, Riyad Mahrez and Gabriel Jesus making way for Ilkay Gundogan, Bernardo Silva and Sergio Aguero.
Christian Eriksen starts for Spurs after his telling impact from the bench during the 3-1 win over Aston Villa last time out. Lucas Moura drops down to take his spot among the replacements.