Joleon Lescott details how Man City can cope without Ruben Dias

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

Joleon Lescott thinks that Manchester City could have the best group of four centre-backs in the modern era as he backed them to cope without Ruben Dias for their upcoming matches.

Dias has been almost ever-present since coming in from Benfica in September 2020, but has now missed a month of action with a hamstring problem picked up in the FA Cup win over Peterborough.

Pep Guardiola does not expect the defender to be back in time for either leg of their Champions League quarter-final with Atletico Madrid, or the crunch Premier League game with Liverpool; his availability for the FA Cup semi-final is also in doubt.

It is a sizable blow, yet the Blues have coped so far in his absence. In five games, they have conceded just two goals. However much City may miss what Dias brings to the table, Lescott cannot remember another group of centre-backs that had the strength in depth that Guardiola currently has. Read more: Guardiola explains his Man City overthinking in Champions League games "They miss his quality but I don't think it has as big an impact as people might think," said Lescott. "He's been outstanding since he came in but I don't think there has been a more dominant group of four centre-backs in any era than this group of centre-backs - with Nathan Ake included. "There have been stronger partnerships - Terry/Carvalho, Vidic/Ferdinand are stronger partnerships - but if one of them dropped out it wasn't the same.