23-man Manchester City squad training ahead of Champions League last-16 first-leg clash against RB Leipzig

Manchester City have trained at their east-Manchester hub for the final time before making the journey to Germany this week.

City travel to the continent later this afternoon ahead of their UEFA Champions League last-16 first-leg tie against Bundesliga high-flyers RB Leipzig on Wednesday night, with the second-leg of the content coming in mid-March.

Many feel that the double-header against Leipzig could be the perfect distraction for Manchester City and their players amid an intense Premier League title pursuit against Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal.

The change of competition this week also provides Pep Guardiola’s players with the perfect opportunity to bounce back from disappointment at the weekend, as a Bernardo Silva opener was cancelled out by a late Chris Wood strike to draw 1-1 with Nottingham Forest at the City Ground.

RB Leipzig are familiar opponents for most players in this Manchester City squad, having played them in the group stage of last year’s Champions League, with the Blues coming out 6-3 victors at home, before falling to a 2-0 defeat away on the final matchday of the group.

Ahead of this one, Manchester City are expected to only be without John Stones, who – despite “getting better”, according to his manager Pep Guardiola – is continuing to undergo the recovery process from a muscular problem sustained last month.

The Catalan coach is expected to provide a more in-depth update on the fitness of his Manchester City team when he addresses the media from the Red Bull Arena on Tuesday evening, joined by defensive mainstay Nathan Ake.

Ahead of Wednesday night’s fixture, Manchester City’s training squad going through their paces for the final time has been revealed in an open session on Tuesday afternoon.

23-man Manchester City training squad ahead of RB Leipzig:

Goalkeepers: Ederson, Stefan Ortega Moreno, Scott Carson.

Defenders: Kyle Walker, Rico Lewis, Jadel Katongo, Manuel Akanji, Ruben Dias, Nathan Ake, Sergio Gomez.

Midfielders: Kalvin Phillips, Rodri, Shea Charles, Alex Robertson, Maximo Perrone, Ilkay Gundogan, Bernardo Silva.

Forwards: Cole Palmer, Phil Foden, Riyad Mahrez, Jack Grealish, Julian Alvarez, Erling Haaland.

John Stones continues to be absent from full first-team training as expected.

In more surprising news, Aymeric Laporte and Kevin De Bruyne were also not spotted in the open training session with their Manchester City teammates, with no word at that moment on the reasoning behind their absence.

Pep Guardiola is likely to be quizzed on the fitness of the above trio later in the day, especially if they are not named in the travelling squad – which is expected to be finalised and released in the coming hours.