Guardiola expecting challenging season for injury-hit Man City

Pep Guardiola believes Manchester City’s current injury problems will make it harder for them to repeat the success of recent years.

Depleted by a number of injuries to key players, the Premier League champions saw a 32-game unbeaten league run ended by a loss at Bournemouth on Saturday after a midweek reverse at Tottenham in the EFL Cup fourth round, marking the first time City have lost successive matches in all competitions since September 2023.

While Guardiola says he is aware of the expectations surrounding his team, he knew they were likely to suffer more defeats due to injuries and the increasing level of their opponents.

“I know our standards, but we’ve lost just one game. Maybe we are going to lose again in the Premier League against Brighton and against Tottenham and against Liverpool,” Guardiola told reporters, referring to their next three Premier League games.

“We are just two points behind Liverpool, who are a top-class team. We’ve started well in the Champions League, but I know people expect us to win 38 league games and win the treble every season as these are our standards.

“The reason it is difficult is because we have had a lot of absentees, which can happen in some seasons.

“Sometimes, to win the treble, everything has to be on the same page with injuries, but this is not possible this time. The teams are very strong and everything is more difficult, and we have to accept that. That is the challenge.”

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City will be without Ballon d’Or winner Rodrigo and Oscar Bobb for most of the campaign, while John Stones, Jack Grealish and Ruben Dias remain sidelined and have not travelled to Portugal.

Manuel Akanji, Nathan Ake and Kyle Walker still have problems despite being in the squad, Guardiola said, and Kevin De Bruyne and Savinho are improving, while Erling Haaland is fit.

City sit third in the Champions League standings after two wins and a draw and are looking for a third consecutive European win at Portuguese champions Sporting CP, who are eighth but also have seven points and are unbeaten across all competitions this season.

Guardiola’s side claimed a resounding 5-0 win at Sporting when they met in the 2022 Champions League last 16, and are looking to extend their record run of unbeaten games to 27 in the competition.

“They play quite similar like we faced two seasons ago, the pattern is so clear,” Guardiola added.

“They have changed players but have the same manager and same mentality,” he said, referring to Sporting boss Ruben Amorim, who will take over at Manchester United at the start of the international break.