This weekend, the standout fixture in the Premier League will be between Manchester City and Liverpool, in the early kick off at the Etihad.
But there are concerns around the fitness of Man City club captain Vincent Kompany - not for the first time of course from a City perspective when it comes to their on field leader.
The Belgium defender picked up a calf injury on international duty with his country and has been ruled out of Saturday's clash, exacerbating a problem that was not addressed during the summer.
While there was a heavy outlay during the summer on other parts of the squad, manager Pep Guardiola did not strengthen the central defence, leaving him with the talented but inconsistent John Stones, Nicolas Otamendi and Eliaquim Mangala in the absence of Kompany.
While City are among the leading title favourites, that failure to strengthen the central defensive area could come back to haunt them as we discussed with football journalist Mark Ogden.
"Kompany's a massive issue because if he misses the game, he's their best defender by a long way and not only that, he makes the other defenders better alongside him, so if Kompany's missing it'll be Otamendi and Stones - both good defenders in their own right but when they play together, they're not as good as they are when they've got Kompany beside them," he said.
"So I think that's why Guardiola was so keen to sign Jonny Evans because Jonny's been around the block, he's solid, he's a defender first and foremost and I think he would have gone in there and been the second best defender at the club automatically.
"I think Stones is a great prospect but he doesn't seem to have the game intelligence yet to be able to defend properly. He gets a bit carried away with; Kompany alongside him, he's much better. With Kompany not there, it's different so if he is missing, it's a great plus for Liverpool and a big blow for City."
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