Pep Guardiola faces two Man City selection dilemmas vs Sporting Lisbon

Pep Guardiola may be deliberately muddying the waters in terms of who plays at right-back - a decision that will significantly alter how Manchester City go about the game.

Last week against Brentford, he left out Kyle Walker - suspended for this game - and played John Stones instead.

That could have been simply a nod to Brentford’s height and strength at setpieces, but Guardiola went out of his way to praise Stones’ contribution in playing line-breaking passes, making it clear he is a live option for the trip to Lisbon.

Then on Saturday he rested Joao Cancelo and played Aleks Zinchenko at left-back - and the Ukraine international was a star performer in the 4-0 win at Carrow Road.

Cancelo on the right and Zinchenko on the left has been his go-to full-back pairing when Walker is not available, but Sporting boss Ruben Amorim will be left guessing up until an hour before kick-off.

Ruben Dias will be desperate to play on his return to his native Lisbon, but for once in his City career, it is no shoo-in.

The Portugal international played on Saturday at Norwich alongside Nathan Ake, and is almost sure to face Harry Kane and Tottenham next Saturday, as the centre-back best-equipped to deal with his physicality.

Guardiola has shown a tendency to pair Aymeric Laporte and Stones lately, in games where he feels passing out from the back is more important than strong defending, and this could be one of those games.

Dias is no longer a “must” in the back four, as shown by the fact he was left out in the win over Chelsea last month, even if he remains a big asset.

Injuries to Jack Grealish, Cole Palmer and Gabriel Jesus have made the manager’s task of selecting his front three much less of a headache.

That is why Raheem Sterling, Phil