Pep Guardiola’s admission of a crisis gives Liverpool a boost in the Premier League title race.

Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal and Arne Slot’s Liverpool have received a boost in the Premier League title race following Pep Guardiola’s concerning revelation about Manchester City’s injury situation.

Guardiola disclosed that he has only 13 first-team players available for the upcoming match against Bournemouth, significantly impacting Liverpool’s title hopes. Key players such as Rodri, out for the season with an ACL injury, and Oscar Bobb, sidelined due to a leg fracture, are among those missing. Additionally, Kevin de Bruyne, Kyle Walker, Jeremy Doku, and Jack Grealish are also injured and lack a definite return timeline.

The situation has deteriorated further, as Manuel Akanji suffered a calf issue during warm-ups prior to the Carabao Cup defeat against Spurs, and Ruben Dias along with Savinho picked up injuries during the match. With important matches against Bournemouth, Sporting, and Brighton approaching before the international break, Guardiola expressed his worries: “We have 13 players, we are in real difficulties. The guys that play, they finish most of them with problems and we’ll see how they recover. I think we are in trouble.”

He continued, “In nine years we’ve never been in the situation with so many injuries. The players make a step forward, more together than ever, and we will try to do this week in this short time of recovery.”

Regarding Savinho’s injury, he noted, “[He] had a knock in the 18-yard box but we will see tomorrow what happened. We have to see if it was just a knock or something else. It was on the bone, so hopefully nothing dangerous, but we will have to see tomorrow.”

Guardiola added, “Our captain is injured. I don’t think he or Kevin will be back until after the international break. Jack Grealish as well. It’s tough. Akanji felt something in the muscular part of his body – he wanted to take a risk, but we said no, no risk.” He also mentioned that Ruben is struggling, noting that the situation is worsening with each game, stating, “maybe we will be all back together at some point.”

Looking at Manchester City’s official squad list confirms Guardiola’s concerns about a depleted roster, as only 13 senior outfield players are currently available, which includes Josh Wilson-Esbrand, who has yet to debut for the first team. Positioned just a point ahead of Liverpool and five points clear of Arsenal, City’s lead at the top of the Premier League may prove difficult to maintain.