Pep Guardiola wants answer to Joao Cancelo question no-one else is asking amid Kyle Walker absence

A Champions League dead rubber behind closed doors, with top spot in the group already secured. What could possibly go wrong?

Well, quite a bit, as it turned out. Pep Guardiola will not have lost too much sleep over Manchester City’s 2-1 defeat at RB Leipzig in December but Kyle Walker’s rush of blood during the closing stages had consequences he must begin to address tonight.

The England right-back was sent off for kicking out at Leipzig striker Andre Silva and handed a three-match ban by UEFA. Although City are appealing the severity of that punishment, they are without Walker for Tuesday’s last-16 encounter with Sporting Lisbon.

For a major European away game, the 31-year-old would almost always be one of the first names on the teamsheet. He is one of Guardiola’s most reliable performers and his physical prowess, recovery pace and tactical awareness make him a formidable foe on such occasions.

Of course, it’s not quite as simple as bringing in an understudy. City’s other right-back also happens to be one of the very best left-backs in world football right now, and how any selection impacts upon Joao Cancelo’s output will be foremost in Guardiola’s thoughts.

Here, we run through the three most obvious options open to Pep, assuming Ederson won’t slot in at full-back with Scott Carson starting in goal.

Oleksandr Zinchenko

It shows how much has changed since last season’s Champions League final that Zinchenko being preferred to Cancelo at left-back wasn’t even a remotely eyebrow-raising selection.

Their change in status since then is largely down to Cancelo’s own sensational form, rather than anything Zinchenko has done wrong.

In the 4-0 weekend win against Norwich, the Ukraine international returned at left-back