Pep Guardiola acknowledges the strain of Manchester City's recent poor form but maintains that "the soul and spirit of this team remains intact." Wednesday's 2-0 Champions League loss to Juventus marked the seventh defeat in City's last 10 games, with only one victory.

"We are disheartened," Guardiola said. "I feel for the players because of how they push themselves and fight under the current circumstances." The City manager further added, "Our fans might also be disheartened, and I fully understand that. Perhaps we've lost seven or eight games in a season or two, and now it's been a month and a half." He continued, "But they know this group of players has achieved an era that no one else has. The numbers and records, both negative and positive, encourage [the fans] to support them until the end because they deserve it."

Guardiola also mentioned that the demanding schedule might require a larger squad. "Perhaps with this calendar, you need a squad of 25, 30 players. It will be more financially challenging for the club. People ask, 'What's the issue?' The issue is the schedule. Sooner or later, it will affect all clubs. When we won the treble and the four domestic titles, we had one, two, three injuries, but we were very stable. That's why we could compete, and now we can't. We can survive."

The manager is contemplating how to address Manchester City's defensive issues ahead of Sunday's derby at the Etihad. He expects only three defenders to be available: Kyle Walker, Rúben Dias, and Josko Gvardiol, with Manuel Akanji, Nathan Aké, and John Stones injured, and Rico Lewis suspended after his red card in the recent draw with Crystal Palace.

Akanji is the latest addition to the injury list, having come off at halftime against Nottingham Forest earlier this month with an abdominal issue. "Manu is a strong and reliable player, but at that moment, he couldn't be," Guardiola said. He is also without Rodri and Oscar Bobb due to long-term injuries.

"I don't know what I have to do. I need players. We'll see what happens with the players we have. Maybe some winger has to play as a full-back or Matheus [Nunes] might play as a full-back, or maybe we'll play with five at the back when wing-backs are wingers."

City announced record revenue for the year ending June and profits exceeding £70m. However, when asked about potential January signings, Guardiola said, "What I want is my players back. The club must be sustainable—that doesn't mean we have vast resources to buy whatever we want, especially given how expensive everything is."

With United adjusting to life under their new manager, Ruben Amorim, the derby presents an intriguing matchup. Guardiola believes Amorim is already instilling his style at United. "It's already evident, all the patterns. The quality of movement, runners, and pace. He will do a great job, I'm sure of that."

The two managers have already faced each other this season, with Sporting winning 4-1 in the Champions League last month. Guardiola said, "I would like to play the game as we did in Lisbon on Sunday. The way we played. I don't know if we'll be able to do it for various reasons, but we'll see."

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