Pep Guardiola
Pep Guardiola talks with Kevin De Bruyne during the training session before travelling to Barcelona. Getty

KEY POINTS

  • Kevin De Bruyne, Raheem Sterling, Sergi Aguero and captain Vincent Kompay lead the 21-man squad.
  • Premier League leaders visit Pep Guardiola's former side on Wednesday night.

Kevin De Bruyne, Raheem Sterling, Sergio Aguero and captain Vincent Kompany all feature in Manchester City's 21-man travelling squad for the Barcelona match on Wednesday night (19 October), as the Citizens prepare to face the La Liga giants in their third Champions League group stage clash. Bacary Sagna and Fabian Delph are the only noticeable absentees, with the Premier League leaders having no fresh injury concerns over the team that were held to a 1-1 draw Everton at the weekend.

De Bruyne missed the Champions League draw with Celtic as well as the Premier League defeat to Tottenham Hotspur due to a hamstring issue. However, the Manchester City has taken advantage of the recent international break to step up his recovery, and was able to play the full 90 minutes versus the Toffees.

Sterling also started against Everton despite missing the recent England internationals, while Aguero came on in the second half following an injury scare sustained on duty with Argentina. Kompany also made a late cameo following recent time on the sidelines.

The quartet are all available to face Barcelona on Wednesday with the first three expected to feature in the starting line-up.

However, the Champions League clash will still come too early for long-term absentees Sagna and Delph. The French right-back was ruled out for three weeks after picking up a hamstring injury on international duty with France while the former Aston Villa midfielder has yet to play since August.

Pablo Zabaleta is expected to be recalled with the task of stopping Neymar after he was rested at the weekend, while Aleksandar Kolarov could also return to the line-up on the other flank of the back-line to face Lionel Messi.