Why eight Manchester City stars including Kyle Walker and Jack Grealish are absent from the squad against Everton on Boxing Day | OneFootball

Pep Guardiola’s squad dilemmas and headaches have been further complicated with the list of first-team absentees growing to eight for the visit of Everton on Boxing Day.

The Premier League champions are in desperate need of a win to begin climbing back up the English top-flight table and improve their chances of securing UEFA Champions League football for the 2025/26 season.

Across their last 12 matches in all competitions, Manchester City have won just one game in a 3-0 win over Nottingham Forest – who now sit above them in the Premier League table – whilst losing nine matches in that run.

Last time out it was a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Aston Villa, who also sit above seventh place City, with goals from Jhon Duran and Morgan Rogers either side of the half-time interval ensuring there would be no points for Guardiola and his players.

That contest saw John Stones once again limp out of action with a reoccurrence of a previous issue, as Kyle Walker took his place for the second 45 minutes at Villa Park, forcing City to alter their approach to the game, according to Pep Guardiola.

Those two players make up a list of eight names to be absent from the Manchester City matchday squad against Everton, with Stones ruled out through injury and Walker sidelined as he is ‘unwell’, according to the official line from the club.

Jack Grealish is described as being ‘not fully-fit’ for the contest with Everton on Thursday lunchtime, joining Ruben Dias, Matheus Nunes, and Ederson on the sidelines, with that trio all understood to be nursing fitness problems.

The longer-term issues for Manchester City also remain standing with Rodri continuing his lengthy recovery process from a double knee injury, and Oscar Bobb approaching the tail-end of his rehabilitation process from a leg bone fracture sustained last August.