- Pep Guardiola delivers team news update
- Clarifies Rodri and Khusanov’s situation
- Man City preparing to play Crystal Palace
Pep Guardiola has delivered a new update on Manchester City’s injured players ahead of their match against Crystal Palace.
Manchester City need as many players available as possible to have any chance of snatching the Premier League title away from Arsenal.
The Citizens are five points behind their rivals and also have an FA Cup final to focus on this weekend.
City’s calendar is about to get very hectic, so Guardiola will be eager to see the injured members of his squad fit again.
Pep Guardiola gives update on Abdukodir Khusanov and Rodri
Speaking in his press conference ahead of Man City’s clash with Crystal Palace, Guardiola has shared how close Rodri and Abdukodir Khusanov are to making a return.
Rodri last played in City’s 2-1 victory over Arsenal, while Khusanov suffered an injury during the 3-3 draw against Everton.
“Better, we will see in training,” Guardiola said, when asked about whether Rodri is likely to be fit on Wednesday.
On Khusanov, the manager added: “Better as well. Had a tough knock but he is better. No concerns we arrive good.”
Rodri is a bigger loss than Khusanov
Without a doubt, Khusanov has been brilliant this season. This was reflected by his two club player of the month awards, of which his most recent was won in April.
However, City kept a clean sheet against Brentford, with Marc Guehi and Nathan Ake doing their job in defence.
Additionally, Matheus Nunes made a couple of important challenges to prevent the visitors from being one-on-one with Gianluigi Donnarumma.
Whereas in midfield, Guardiola has struggled to find an adequate replacement for Rodri. Nico Gonzalez did not bring much balance or composure to the team against Everton, while Tijjani Reijnders was quite poor on Saturday.
City need Rodri back as soon as possible, as they do not have good cover in midfield compared with the central defensive area.
Guardiola may need to make rotations
When asked about squad rotation in the Sky Blues’ upcoming matches, Guardiola replied: “In the next few days I have to think about.”
With the FA Cup final on Saturday afternoon, it seems highly unlikely that Man City will be at full strength against Crystal Palace.
There are certain players who simply cannot be dropped. Nunes is one such player, as Guardiola clearly lacks faith in Rico Lewis.
Jeremy Doku is another, considering he has been the standout star over the course of City’s two most recent games.
Still, it would be quite the gamble for Guardiola to field all his most trustworthy assets. Then again, fail to beat Palace and the title race is all but over.
