The Citizens are set to visit St James’ Park later this week for their Carabao Cup third-round clash, but they’re facing a mounting list of absentees.
Captain Kevin De Bruyne won’t be available until January due to a hamstring injury, and John Stones, Mateo Kovacic, and Bernardo Silva are dealing with their own injury issues.
Adding to Guardiola’s woes, his compatriot Rodri, the defensive midfielder who scored the winning goal for City in last season’s Champions League final, will miss three games following his red card against Nottingham Forest. Rodri was sent off for an altercation with Morgan Gibbs-White, where he grabbed him by the throat.
Furthermore, with City having four matches to play in the next two weeks until the next international break, Guardiola acknowledges the need for squad rotation when facing Newcastle.
In a light-hearted remark, Guardiola even suggested he might make a return to the pitch himself, joking about his illustrious playing career that ended in 2006 with Mexican outfit Dorados.
Guardiola, who won 15 trophies at Barcelona between 1990-2001 and recently recovered from back surgery, stated,”The Carabao Cup is great for all the guys who don’t play regularly. They can play some minutes and that’s perfect.”
“But for the other players, I’m not going to waste one per cent of energy for Carabao Cup.”
“The likes of Kyle [Walker], Ruben [Dias] – playing 90 minutes for us, 90 for the national team, they are exhausted already.”
Guardiola humorously added, “That’s why we are going to play with the guys who need it, the academy, maybe me.”
“My back is getting better so I might manage a few minutes!”
With Rodri suspended, Guardiola hinted that Kalvin Phillips, who has been somewhat overlooked, could make an appearance against Newcastle after an impressive substitute appearance on Saturday.
Guardiola praised Phillips, saying, “He played really well, the type of game that we needed. I’m so pleased for him because he’s an incredible guy.”
“He’s not fazed about his minutes and he’s a national player with England. With us he hasn’t played much, but he’s really helped us.”
Manchester City performance and stats
It will be Manchester City ended the league in the 1st position with 18 points.
It has a positive goal difference after scoring 16 goals and conceding 3.
Manchester City will play the next match in Premier League against Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday 30th of September in Wolverhampton.
