Manchester United stand in the way of Pep Guardiola and his side completing two-thirds of a highly-coveted treble, but the latest Manchester City injury news provided by the Spaniard is perhaps the best possible preparation he could’ve hoped for this weekend.
Manchester City Injury News
Worries over several key first team players had threatened to de-rail Manchester City’s bid for a first ever trifecta of trophies, which would also see them become only the second English side to achieve that feat.
Coincidentally, that team happens to be their neighbours and this weekend’s FA Cup final opponents Manchester United, who will be aiming to prevent the Cityzens from moving a step closer to a historic season, while also picking up a domestic cup double for themselves.
After wrapping up a third successive Premier League title with three games to spare, the tail end of the season saw Pep Guardiola rotate his squad heavily in order to rest key starters, ready for two pivotal cup finals this month.
The Spaniard even described Kevin De Bruyne, who was a minor doubt for Saturday’s showdown at Wembley, as being “mentally completely drained” after he sat out their final day defeat to Brentford.
☑️ Grealish
☑️ De BruynePep Guardiola provides a positive update on the Manchester City team pic.twitter.com/iYHJoC0JMP
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) June 2, 2023
Elsewhere, he confirmed Jack Grealish, Ruben Dias and Manuel Akanji featured in the last two training sessions and are all “more or less fine.” Whether the former is handed a start over Riyad Mahrez, who has five goals in the FA Cup so far this year, remains to be seen.
Guardiola also went on to confirm the inevitable – cup keeper Stefan Ortega will start on Saturday.
Speaking to the press, he said: “Yeah, he’s going to play. It’s always been the same in the cups, even with Barcelona and Munich, so he’s going to play in the FA Cup [final].”
Questioned on whether his side had been practicing penalties after last year’s final was decided from the spot, he replied: “Occasionally, yeah. I always think with penalties it’s an important skill with the mentality.”
Over a Decade Has Passed Since Manchester United and Manchester City Last Met in the FA Cup
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