Pep Guardiola faces Man City defensive crisis ahead of Man Utd showdown
Pep Guardiola is grappling with a defensive crisis ahead of Manchester City's derby clash at the Etihad on Sunday.
The City boss anticipates having only three fit defenders - Kyle Walker, Ruben Dias and Josko Gvardiol - at his disposal, with Manuel Akanji, Nathan Ake and John Stones all sidelined through injury and Rico Lewis serving a suspension after being sent off in last weekend's draw against Crystal Palace.
Akanji is the most recent addition to the injury roster, having been substituted at half-time during the Nottingham Forest match earlier this month due to an abdominal problem.
"Manu is a strong player and so reliable but in that moment he cannot be that," Guardiola admitted. "I don’t know what I have to do. I need players.
"We will see what happens today and tomorrow, the players we have. Maybe some winger has to play as a full-back or Matheus (Nunes) maybe can play as a full-back, or maybe play with five at the back when wing-backs are wingers."
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The 2-0 Champions League defeat to Juventus on Wednesday marked City's seventh loss in their last 10 games. Despite this, Guardiola remains optimistic about the team's spirit.
"The soul and the spirit of this team is there," he said. "We are sad, I’m sad for the players because the way they run and they fight with the circumstances they have.
const loadOvpScript=()=>{let el=document.createElement('script');el.setAttribute('src','https://live.primis.tech/live/liveView.php?s=114291&vp_content=plembed3e7arguyxmsj&cbuster=%%CACHEBUSTER%%&playerApiId=v114291');document.getElementById('ovp-primis').appendChild(el)};window.top.addEventListener('primisPlayerInit',e=>{try{if(e.detail&&e.detail.playerApiId==="v114291"){if(window.document.getElementsByClassName('jwplayer')[0]){e.detail.float('disable')}}}catch(e){}});window.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded',()=>{setTimeout(()=>{if(typeof flagTcfLoaded!=='undefined'&&flagTcfLoaded===!0){loadOvpScript();ExpressApp.Log('[Load] OVP flagTcfLoaded',new Date())}else{document.addEventListener("tcfLoaded",()=>{loadOvpScript();ExpressApp.Log('[Load] OVP tcfLoaded',new Date())})}},1500)})"Our fans, maybe they are sad, I understand completely because maybe we lose seven games, eight games in one season or in two seasons, and now a month and a half.
"But they know this group of players have made an era that no one has done. The numbers and records, now negative ones but the positive ones, I encourage them (the fans) to support them until the end because they deserve it.
"It made me reflect that maybe with this calendar you need a squad with 25, 30 players. It will be more difficult financially for the club. People say, ‘What is the problem? ’ The problem is the schedule.
Manuel Akanji is replaced by Kyle Walker because of injury (Image: PA Wire/PA Images)"Sooner or later it will happen for all clubs. When we won the treble, the four domestics, we have one, two, three injuries, but we were so stable. That’s why we could compete, and now we cannot. We can survive."
Despite City announcing record revenue and profits over £7 million for the year to June, Guardiola acknowledged the financial prudence required in the transfer market: "What I want is my players back."
"In the right moment we will see but the fact you have revenue – I must congratulate the club, the CEO, (chairman) Khaldoon (Al Mubarak) and all the people because the club must be sustainable – that doesn’t mean we have big, big resources to buy whatever we want, especially today with the transfer market and how expensive everything is."
Furthermore, as United adjust under their new manager Ruben Amorim and face their own set of trials, the upcoming derby promises to be captivating.
Guardiola has heaped praise on Ruben Amorim, claiming the Portuguese coach's methods are already shaping United. Guardiola remarked: "It’s already there, all the patterns. How good the movement is and the runners and the pace. He will do a good job, I’m pretty sure of that."
Trending window.topArticlesScript="https://cdn.images.express.co.uk/js/dist/article-top-articles20241210.min.js"Pep Guardiola has already faced Ruben Amorim this season (Image: PA Wire/PA Images) SUBSCRIBE Invalid emailWe use your sign-up to provide content in ways you've consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. Read our Privacy Policy
The two managers squared off earlier this season, with Amorim’s Sporting side clinching a 4-1 victory in the Champions League.
Despite this, Guardiola expressed his desire to replicate their Lisbon performance in their upcoming encounters, saying: "I would like to play the game like we played in Lisbon on Sunday. The way we played. I don’t know if we will be able to do it for many reasons but we’ll see.
"I’m really pleased for the way we played. And I have a certain moral authority because of what happened in my career as a football player and manager, the titles we won, that I know perfectly when we are playing good or not good.
"We have to shoot more in the final third, we have to defend better, we have to avoid mistakes in both sides, but the game is there. Move forward, keep working, this is what we have to do."
Pep Guardiola faces Man City defensive crisis ahead of Man Utd showdown
Pep Guardiola faces Man City defensive crisis ahead of Man Utd showdown
Pep Guardiola faces Man City defensive crisis ahead of Man Utd showdown
Pep Guardiola faces Man City defensive crisis ahead of Man Utd showdown
Pep Guardiola faces Man City defensive crisis ahead of Man Utd showdown
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