Weekend Briefing: Pep Guardiola has more problems in defence

Injury Briefing

Rodri blow for Manchester City

Premier League champions Manchester City are likely to be without Rodri for their home clash against Aston Villa and Pep Guardiola could still be sweating on his fitness for the game against league leaders Liverpool on November 10.

Rodri, who has been playing alongside Fernandinho at the heart of City's makeshift defence, went off with a hamstring complaint against Atalanta on Tuesday in the Champions League.

Stoke struggling for Millwall trip

It was a costly defeat for Stoke at Sheffield Wednesday on Tuesday with Peter Etebo, Tom Edwards and Cameron Carter-Vickers all picking up injuries at Hillsborough.

The Potters are hopeful Carter-Vickers can recover from a nasty gash to the leg, but Etebo and Edwards are both struggling for the trip to Millwall.

Bruno Martins-Indi could return from illness, which will be a boost given defensive replacement Liam Lindsay was at fault for the only goal in midweek.

Stags party starting to swell

Mansfield welcome back defender Hayden White from suspension and could also be boosted by the return of influential midfielder Jacob Mellis after a hamstring problem.

However, top goalscorer Danny Rose is sidelined for six weeks with an ankle problem.

Bryce is right for Dons

Aberdeen should be boosted by the return of Craig Bryson, who has been sidelined since September 14, for the visit of Ladbrokes Premiership champions Celtic.

Derek McInnes had to use two defenders in midfield for last week's win at Motherwell but with Bryson and Stephen Gleeson back his options are more plentiful.

Ryan Hedges could also return for the Dons.

Injury crisis for Roma

Amadou Diawara, Lorenzo Pellegrini, Davide Zappacosta, Bryan Cristante and Nikola Kalinic are out of Sunday's Serie A showdown with Milan and Roma also have doubts about the fitness of Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Cengiz Under.

Edin Dzeko has been rushed back because of the problems elsewhere but may need to use a protective mask to feature.

Gaffer Tracker

Gary Rowett
Millwall

Millwall were never likely to be overly adventurous in their approach to replace Neil Harris and Gary Rowett looks a decent choice to keep the Lions ticking over in the Championship.

Rowett struggled at Stoke - but so too has Nathan Jones - and he did solid work at Burton, Birmingham and Derby, which suggests he can get Millwall organised.

Sol Campbell
Southend

Sol Campbell was in the stands for Tuesday's 7-1 beating at the hands of Doncaster and surely things can only get better for the struggling Shrimpers.

Campbell worked miracles at his previous club Macclesfield, focusing on organising their defence, and if he carries on that work he could be a good choice for Southend.

He certainly looks a better fit than their number one target Henrik Larsson, although the fixture list has not been kind with matches against Ipswich, Sunderland and Portsmouth on the horizon.

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