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Rodri and Jeremy Doku could both be involved when Manchester City travel to Sunderland on New Year's Day, manager Pep Guardiola said. A key playmaker at the Etihad when fit, Rodri was an unused substitute in Saturday's Premier League win over Nottingham Forest following his latest injury setback.The Spaniard missed most of last season with a severe knee problem and his attempts at returning to action have been hampered by several issues, with the latest a hamstring complaint. Doku, a winger who enjoyed a fine start to the season, has been sidelined for the past four games with a calf injury.Their returns could be valuable to a City side who are set to be without several players during a congested January schedule. City, including a trip to Tottenham on February 1, face 10 games in the space of 32 days over four competitions. John Stones, Oscar Bobb and Mateo Kovacic are also out injured while Rayan Ait-Nouri and Omar Marmoush are at the Africa Cup of Nations."Rodri has come back," Guardiola told a pre-match press conference. "Maybe he can play a few minutes. I'm looking forward to it. Doku maybe, John and Oscar no."Guardiola added: "In terms of squad we are not in our best right now for this tight schedule. It's right lately we have played with the same guys but with the schedule we have. We will arrive back (from Sunderland) at 2am or 3am and two days later we have Chelsea and then after that we have Brighton – really tough opponents. We don't have many players to rotate."City, who will begin 2026 five points behind Premier League leaders Arsenal but with a game in hand, could strengthen their squad during the January transfer window. Guardiola, however, refused to be drawn on reports linking the club with Bournemouth's Antoine Semenyo."I don't have any news about anything right now," said the City boss, who also refused to be drawn on rumours Bobb could leave. "The winter transfer window is completely closed right now. So, Sunderland..."Sunderland are seventh in the table having made an impressive return to the top flight following last season's promotion. City defeated the Black Cats 3-0 at the Etihad on December 6 but Guardiola expects a difficult encounter at the Stadium of Light."They are so tough," he said. "The crowd is unbelievable. They have beaten Newcastle. Arsenal and Aston Villa could not win there. "They have had really good results. It will be completely different there but at the same time we are ready." 

World number one Carlos Alcaraz came under extreme pressure before overcoming American Taylor Fritz 6-7(2), 7-5, 6-3 in a thrilling round-robin match at the ATP Finals Tuesday, leaving the Spaniard on two wins from two.Last year’s finalist Fritz played the tennis of his life, as both men served up the best encounter of the season-ending championships so far, but the American ran out of steam as Alcaraz turned on the style and took the deciding set with ease.Alcaraz and Fritz had won their opening Jimmy Connors Group matches, and the Spaniard looked in real trouble when the American took the opening set in a tiebreak. Alcaraz faced break points in the second set but rallied back to draw level.Fritz began to tire, and Alcaraz broke to lead 4-2 in the final set before wrapping up the win in two hours and 48 minutes by serving out to love.“It was pretty tight, I was struggling more than him in the first set,” Alcaraz said. “I wasn’t serving well, and I think he was pretty comfortable from the baseline, from everywhere.”Alcaraz will be assured of a semi-final place if Alex de Minaur defeats Lorenzo Musetti in the evening match. He also needs one more victory to guarantee the year-ending world number one spot, and will face Musetti Thursday.“I try not to think about it to be honest,” Alcaraz said.“Obviously it’s going to be a really big match for me. I’ll try to control the emotions, to control myself.”Tuesday’s clash was a battle from the opening game, with Fritz taking nine minutes to hold after hitting three aces but also facing two break points. The American forced three break points in the next game before the pair traded breaks.Fritz raced into a 5-2 lead in the tiebreak and smashed two aces to take the set. At 2-2 in the second, Alcaraz was rattled, his drop shots which earlier beat Fritz began to fall short but, after losing advantage five times, the Spaniard held on.Alcaraz got lucky with a shot that hit the net but crept over in the final game of the second set and broke to take the match to a third, where Alcaraz outclassed an exhausted Fritz.“I was really relieved after the win because of everything I went through during the match,” Alcaraz said aft.“I wasn’t feeling the ball as well as I was in the first round, but I’m really happy that I found a way to come back.”Two fans die on second day of ATP FinalsTwo spectators died from cardiac arrests during the second day of the ATP Finals at the Inalpi Arena in Turin, the Italian Tennis Federation (FITP) and the ATP said Tuesday.The individuals were aged 70 and 78 and the incidents occurred at different times on Monday. The first singles match between Italian Lorenzo Musetti and Taylor Fritz was delayed, with an announcement made regarding a medical situation in the arena.“The Italian Tennis and Padel Federation (FITP) and the ATP express their deepest condolences following the tragic passing of two spectators Tuesday during the ATP Finals in Turin,” a joint statement said Tuesday.“On-site medical and emergency personnel responded immediately, providing all possible assistance. Despite prompt intervention and subsequent transfer to hospital, unfortunately, both sadly passed away.”The season-ending championships have been held at the Turin arena since 2021, with the Italian city confirmed as host for 2026.The ATP Finals will remain in Italy until 2030.Large crowds were at the arena on Monday when along with Musetti, Italian fans were out in force to cheer on defending champion Jannik Sinner who defeated Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime.