Guardiola on injuries, 'incredible' De Zerbi and City's position

  • Author, Simon Stone
  • Role, Chief football news reporter

Manager Pep Guardiola has spoken to the media before Manchester City's trip to face Brighton in the Premier League on Thursday (20:00 BST kick-off).

Here are the main lines from his news conference:

  • On the injury situation: "Erling [Haaland] is not ready for tomorrow. It is not a big problem. The other two [Phil Foden and John Stones] are ready."
  • On whether facing Roberto de Zerbi's Brighton is easier this season: "Harder. My admiration for him is growing every season. They had a lot of problems and important players like Colwill, Caicedo, Mac Allister were sold. They have a lot of injuries and have played in three competitions, but the way they play is always there. He is doing an incredible job at Brighton."
  • On getting to a month from the end of the season still favourites for the title and in the FA Cup final: "At the start of the season I would have signed [for this]. Being in the latter stages means you can be there until the end - or in one week you can lose all titles. The team again behaved unbelievable this season. We won two titles [Super Cup and Club World Cup], we are in the final of the FA Cup, were in the latter stages of the Champions League and we are there in the Premier League."
  • On Nottingham Forest's reaction to VAR Stuart Attwell and the need to respect match officials: "I absolutely disagree [with Forest]. I never had doubts [about integrity]. They feel the pressure. We put pressure on them for the passion of the game, but when I sit here and reflect, they try to do their best and are under scrutiny with the cameras there. If they make a mistake, they feel bad - it's normal. The game is so difficult - it is fast and quick, decisions have to be made in one instant. It's not easy."

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