Sunderland host Man City in the Premier League on New Year’s Day.

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has suggested that midfielder Rodri may be in a position to play some kind of role against Sunderland on New Year’s Day, while winger Jeremy Doku could also feature.

The Black Cats host the Premier League title challengers at the Stadium of Light on Thursday, and will be hoping to make amends for the last meeting between the two clubs at the beginning of December.

City ran out 3-0 winners at the Etihad that afternoon, but Sunderland had opportunities to trouble their illustrious hosts before goals from Ruben Dias, Josko Gvardiol, and Phil Foden ultimately settled the encounter.

But while Guardiola was quick to point out that he is still without several key players heading into his side’s trip to Wearside, the 54-year-old did share a positive update on his midfield linchpin.

What did Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola say about his squad ahead of Sunderland clash?

Speaking in a press conference on Wednesday lunchtime, Guardiola said: “Rodri has come back. Maybe he can play a few minutes. We’re looking forward to it desperately. Doku, maybe. John [Stones] and Oscar [Bobb], no.

“We have seven [absent] players, two at the African Cup [of Nations] and five players injury coming back a little bit, so in terms of squad, we are not at our best right now. It is tighter, but obviously, in terms of points, we are better than last season.”

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Rodri returned to City’s match day squad for last weekend’s 2-1 win over Nottingham Forest, but remained an unused substitute. Prior to his inclusion at the City Ground, the 29-year-old had not featured in any capacity for his side in two months, and at the time of writing, has managed just 294 minutes of Premier League spread across six appearances this term, with just 23 minutes under his belt since the end of September.

For his part, Doku has not played since the UEFA Champions League win at Real Madrid earlier this month, while Stones has been sidelined since a hectic 5-4 away victory over Fulham in early December. Bobb, who finds himself at the centre of ongoing exit speculation, was forced off against Brentford in a Carabao Cup quarter-final win just before Christmas.

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The rest of City’s absentee list is comprised of Rayan Air-Nouri and Omar Marmoush, who are away on international duty at the Africa Cup of Nations with Algeria and Egypt respectively, and Croatian midfielder Mateo Kovacic, who is undergoing rehabilitation from an ankle injury.

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