Sergio Aguero, Kevin De Bruyne Out for Manchester City vs. Chelsea Due to Injury

Kevin De Bruyne and Sergio Aguero are both unavailable to turn out for Manchester City in their crunch Premier League clash at Chelsea on Saturday.

Manager Pep Guardiola revealed the blow in his pre-match press conference:

De Bruyne, City's chief creative force, has been struggling with knee problems since the start of the 2018/19 season. He was injured after a training session back in August 2018, forcing him to miss nearly two months of action.

His return to the lineup was cut short when he suffered another knee injury in November. His latest setback has again robbed the Citizens of arguably their most influential player, even though Guardiola's squad is well-stocked in the creative department.

Aside from De Bruyne, few players are as good as pulling the strings in the final third as David Silva. His efforts have been supplemented by Portugal international Bernardo Silva, who arrived in the summer of 2017.

The former AS Monaco ace has the cultured left foot, technique and eye for goal to unlock any defence. Ilkay Gundogan is also capable of scoring and creating goals.

City can cope without De Bruyne, but there is little doubt an already awesome team is better with the Belgium international in the starting XI. 

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That is also true of Aguero, who has again been in fine form in front of goal this term. He has eight goals and four assists in 13 league appearances in 2018-19.

The Argentinian has missed City's last two matches in the English top flight with a muscle injury.

On both occasions, at home to Bournemouth and away at Watford, Gabriel Jesus took up the No. 9 role, and it is likely he will do so again against Chelsea.