Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has expressed concerns over his team’s mounting injury crisis ahead of their Champions League clash against Sporting Lisbon on Tuesday. The English champions have suffered consecutive defeats to Tottenham and Bournemouth, ending their 11-month unbeaten run in the Premier League.
Guardiola’s squad has been depleted by injuries to key players, including Ballon d’Or winner Rodri, who is out for the remainder of the season with a knee injury. Oscar Bobb, Ruben Dias, Jack Grealish, and John Stones are also sidelined.
Kevin De Bruyne could make his first appearance in seven weeks but is unlikely to start, while Kyle Walker, Nathan Ake, Manuel Akanji, Jeremy Doku, and Savinho are also not fully fit.
“You know the situation with Rodri, nominated the best player in the world,” Guardiola said at his pre-match press conference. “We know we will struggle, and we have to accept that, and it is fine.”
“The games will be difficult; in previous seasons it was smooth. Personal reasons, injuries, we won six Premier Leagues in seven years. Things change, we have to accept that.”
Guardiola will face one of his future rivals as Sporting boss Ruben Amorim takes charge of the Portuguese champions for the penultimate time before beginning his role as Manchester United manager.
The sides last met in the last 16 of the 2021/22 Champions League when City romped to a 5-0 victory in Lisbon and on aggregate.
“They have changed players but have the same manager and the same mentality,” added Guardiola on the challenge Sporting provide. “Winning the league for the first time in 20 years and then doing it again last season shows what a good job he has done.”
Bernardo Silva scored twice in City’s 5-0 win over Sporting two years ago on his return to Lisbon, where he began his career at Benfica. He urged City not to make excuses despite their injury woes.
“With a full squad, we are stronger, there’s no denying that. We have a lot of unbelievable players missing,” said Silva. “We have not been able to count on Kevin for six weeks. Rodri is out for the season and other players out shorter times. But we never find excuses. This club was never about that.”
Both sides are unbeaten in the new Champions League format with seven points from their opening three matches.
