City's Rodri out of Everton clash, Grealish ineligible to face parent club

Manchester City will be without Ballon d'Or winner Rodri when they host Everton in Saturday's Premier League clash at the Etihad Stadium, manager Pep Guardiola confirmed in a blow to the team's efforts to maintain momentum in the title race.

The midfielder, who missed most of last season recovering from a major knee injury, limped off in the first half of City's 1-0 win over Brentford on October 5, and then withdrew from the Spain squad ahead of the international break.

"No news. He (Rodri) is not ready for tomorrow," Guardiola told reporters on Friday. "I don't know when he will be back."

City are fifth, three points off leaders Arsenal through seven games, with Everton a further two points back in eighth.

Guardiola did have some good news with the return of full back Rayan Ait-Nouri and forward Omar Marmoush to full training. Neither has featured since the end of August due to injuries.

"Much, much better, they are close to come back," he said.

Midfielder Mateo Kovacic could feature for the first time since Achilles tendon surgery last season after he played for Croatia in their World Cup qualifying win over Gibraltar.

"He needs to give us quality moments, quality time and quality minutes. Step-by-step but it's important he's back," Guardiola said.

There will be no emotional return to The Etihad for winger Jack Grealish, who is ineligible to face his parent club.

Guardiola heaped praise on Grealish, who has been brilliant for Everton since he left City on a loan deal, sharing the league lead in assists with Tottenham Hotspur's Mohammed Kudus.

"His impact has been massive since day one," Guardiola said of Grealish's form at Everton. "He is playing well — it's what he wanted. The position we have with him, he is a lovely unbelievable guy but he didn't play for us for different reasons. He is back to real business. He is playing every game."

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City striker Erling Haaland has set a blistering pace, scoring 21 goals for club and country this season, including a hat-trick in Norway's 5-0 win over Israel in World Cup qualifying.

Guardiola, however, cautioned against expecting perfection every week from the 25-year-old.

"He's doing really well right now. But you cannot sustain this level always," the manager said. "When he's going to drop, I'll be there. We'll be there. We just have to sustain his levels.

"To go to the World Cup in the United States - for him and Norway, it's really, really nice and important."

Norway, who top Group I, could qualify next month for the 2026 World Cup in North America. They lead Italy by three points with a far better goal difference and two games left.