Pep admits City have one eye on cups...
PEP Guardiola insists that City’s FA Cup quarter-final at Newcastle is their ‘final’ – and he will rotate his side against Chelsea accordingly.
City have beaten Arsenal and Burnley in the past seven days, and take on Chelsea knowing dropped points could finally hand Liverpool the Premier League title.
Guardiola will already be without Sergio Aguero, and Eric Garcia is likely to miss out after suffering concussion in the Arsenal game.
To add to the injury list, Guardiola revealed his squad are nursing some muscle injuries and knocks ahead of the Chelsea game.
“We have an advantage that there is five days between [the Arsenal and Burnley games] but the team still isn’t fit. I don’t know when they’ll be perfectly fit with a few players playing every few days for 90 minutes.
“We have some disturbing muscular problems and some kicks from the last game.
“You have to avoid the injuries to arrive two important games – Newcastle on Sunday and especially Madrid. We can qualify mathematically for the Champions League, we’re in a good position.”
The FA Cup quarter-final on Sunday is also playing on Guardiola’s mind, with the competition becoming City’s next priority after failing to retain the Premier League title.
Dropped points against either Chelsea tonight or Liverpool next week will see the Merseysiders seal the title, but Guardiola insists he will aim to field his strongest XI at St James’ Park.
He continued: “We can’t deny that we have one eye on Newcastle. Chelsea and Liverpool are prestigious but Newcastle is our game. A final – we have one eye.
“It depends on physical condition, the minutes they have played.
“We take a look a little bit at what is going to happen, not just Chelsea.”
And Ilkay Gundogan could be used as a ‘false nine’ in the remaining eight Premier League games of the season, after Guardiola named him among the players who can cover for Sergio Aguero.
Aguero has undergone surgery after injuring his knee in the 5-0 win over Burnley earlier this week, and will miss the remainder of the Premier League season.
City have Gabriel Jesus ready to step up and assume Aguero’s responsibilities, but Guardiola is concerned that with at least nine games in league and cup in the next 32 days, Jesus will struggle to play in all of them. “We don’t have any doubts about Gabriel,” Guardiola said. “The only doubt is that not one single player can play every three days.”
To support Jesus, Guardiola named three midfielders as potential players to move into the central role and play up front – including midfielder Gundogan.
Guardiola said: “Raheem [Sterling] can play in this position, even Gundogan and Bernardo [Silva]. Not like a [proper] striker but we can use them.”
Sterling and Bernardo have played in the ‘false nine’ position before this season, with Leroy Sane another option to use with his pace. Gundogan, however, has rotated between central midfield and defensive midfield, with a new role
We can’t deny we have an eye on Newcastle. A final – we have one eye City manager Pep Guardiola
up front presenting a different challenge all together.
Guardiola also challenged Jesus to make his mark in the absence of Aguero, even if he dismissed the idea of the pair being in direct competition.
“Gabriel’s played with Aguero,” the manager said. “We want to keep him and we’re delighted at what he is as a player and a person in the locker room. An exceptional guy.
“A young player, we’re delighted. We have no doubts with or without Aguero – we have two incredible strikers.”