Pep Guardiola says he knows John Stones will step up to the plate in the absence of Aymeric Laporte.

The England defender has needed to be patient for first team opportunities over the past six months, with Vincent Kompany and Laporte seeing out the remaining months of the 2018/19 season.

Though Stones has always been in or around the team during that spell, he perhaps hasn’t been a regular starter.

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Now, with Kompany gone and Laporte  possibly out until the New Year, Stones is expected to have a good run of games for the champions - and Pep trusts him completely.

“He’s going to play incredible in this period,” said Pep.

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“He will play well, I have no doubts about his quality. Like Nico and in pre season with Tyler and Eric, we will move on.

“His personality is always there; he’s a guy who n might make a mistake but will try again and again

“Sometimes I decide for Nico, but they have to compete and the quality is there.

“I know the quality after three seasons - I have no doubts about quality.”