According to Sam Lee of The Athletic, Ruben Dias is sidelined due to a hamstring injury. The 28-year old is a key component on Pep Guardiola’s tactics. However, now the team will have to shift into alternatives.

Abdukodir Khusanov and Nathan Aké will be the two center backs for the game. Aké is 5’11” while Dias is 6’1” and City face Arsenal, one of the deadliest set-piece teams in soccer. Hence, this could create some sort of chaos. Follow Arsenal vs Manchester City live with us and catch all the action from the game!

Aké is the resourceful solution for all things defense

The 31-year old leftie is seen as the plug-in player on the City defense. He has played 24 games this season, starting only 11 of them. He is normally seen as the one who can cover a fullback, center back, or even defensive midfield issues when the starters are not available.

While those players are always welcomed on a roster, usually the manager won’t use them starting games, because players like Aké are good in plenty of stuff but aren’t specialists in one particular area. They’re utility players.

Defending set pieces will be Man City’s biggest task

As of early March 2026, Arsenal scored over 30 goals on set-pieces in all competitions. Out of those 30, at least 18 have come from corner kicks, according to FlashScore and Chris Wright of ESPN. That’s concerning even if the likes of Eberechi Eze and Martin Odegaard aren’t playing today.

Without Dias, this task is especially harder, as Dias is one of the best aerial defenders in City’s squad. Per GiveMeSport‘s Vijievan Jeevathayalan, Manchester City have scored just nine Premier League goals from set-pieces, though they rank as one of the best set-piece defenses in the UK.

Can they keep their strong defense without Dias? A win or loss could impact Manchester City and Arsenal as they’re also involved in a dramatic Premier League title race.

Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal will try to clinch their berth through this tournament after failing to do so through the regular Qualifiers. First they’ll have to take on Turkey on March 24 to keep their aspirations alive.

Should they grab the victory, they would face the winner of Italy vs. North Macedonia in the final. But the international break doesn’t come in great timing for Portugal, who will miss Ruben Dias, among others.

Why is Ruben Dias not playing for Portugal vs. North Macedonia?

The Manchester City defender is one of the manycasualties of Portugalfor the March window. Ruben Dias is not playing for Portugal in the UEFA playoffs for the 2022 World Cup because he hasn’t recovered from a hamstringinjury.

Dias picked up the injury in a FA Cup meeting against Peterborough and was ruled out for at least four or six weeks. Besides Dias, Fernando Santos suffers the absence of five other players.

Joao Cancelo is out with a suspension, Renato Sanches got injured playing for Lille in the Ligue 1, Pepe tested positive of Covid-19, Ruben Neves sustained an injury with Wolves, and goalkeeper Anthony Lopes was declared ‘ineligible.’