Manchester City’s coach Pep Guardiola addresses the media on the eve of their UEFA Champions League clash against Sporting CP at Alvalade stadium in Lisbon. — AFP
Manchester City faces a more demanding season as they navigate through injuries, making it tougher to replicate the triumphs of recent years, according to manager Pep Guardiola. Ahead of their Champions League encounter with Sporting on Tuesday, the Premier League champions have been hampered by several key player injuries. Their 32-game unbeaten league streak was snapped by a loss at Bournemouth on Saturday, following a midweek defeat at Tottenham Hotspur in the League Cup fourth round.
Guardiola acknowledged on Monday that while he understands the high expectations for his team, more defeats are likely due to injuries and the escalating strength of their opponents. “I know our standards, but we’ve only lost one game. Perhaps we’ll lose again in the Premier League against Brighton, Tottenham, and Liverpool,” Guardiola told reporters, referencing their upcoming Premier League fixtures. “We’re just two points behind Liverpool, a top-class team... We’ve had a good start in the Champions League, but I know people expect us to win 38 league games and achieve the treble every season, which are our standards.
The difficulty arises because we’ve had numerous absentees, which can happen in some seasons. Sometimes, to win the treble, everything needs to align perfectly with injuries, but that’s not possible this time... The teams are very strong, and everything is more challenging, and we must accept that. That’s the challenge.” 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 did not travel to Portugal. Manuel Akanji, Nathan Ake, and Kyle Walker still have issues despite being in the squad, Guardiola said, and Kevin De Bruyne and Savinho are recovering, while Erling Haaland is fit.
City, currently third in the Champions League standings with two wins and a draw, aims for a third consecutive European victory against Portuguese champions Sporting, who are eighth but also have seven points and remain unbeaten across all competitions this season. Guardiola’s City side secured a commanding 5-0 win at Sporting in the 2022 Champions League last 16. “They play quite similarly to how we faced them two seasons ago; the pattern is very clear,” Guardiola added. “They’ve changed players but have the same manager and the same mentality,” he said, referring to Sporting boss Ruben Amorim, who will take over at Manchester United next week.
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