There is no chance in hell that De Bruyne is available for this game, he hasn't even started training yet, nor running, KDB is still some weeks away from returning to training, and when he does return to training, City will have to be careful with him, he isn't just going to be thrown right back into the action, he would be slowly integrated back into the team to avoid a recurrence of the serious injury he sustained on the first day of the EPL season.

That being said, City have coped very well without KDB, Julian Alvarez has replaced him in that role, and he has done it so well. This is a big game against Liverpool, but City are at home and they are so hard to beat at the Etihad. The first game after an international break can be somewhat tricky, the players need time to find their rhythm again, some might return injured or tired; thus i hope we can still get a cracking game.