Guardiola Aims For Morale Boost With Ederson’s Return As City Take On Salford

Winning three consecutive games is typically not regarded as a significant achievement for Manchester City.

However, manager Pep Guardiola is eagerly pursuing that milestone in Saturday’s FA Cup match against Salford City after his team’s recent decline in form.

City experienced an unexpected collapse in the weeks leading up to Christmas, managing to win only once in 13 matches across all competitions.

However, they managed to halt the downward trend with consecutive Premier League victories against Leicester City and West Ham UnitedWest Ham United.

The last time Premier League champions City won three straight games was in October when a run of five victories was halted by a 2-1 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur.

The Spaniard said a third consecutive win, albeit at home against fourth-tier Salford, would be a big morale boost for his side, who sit sixth in the Premier League standings.

“Well, I’ve lived in Salford for the last eight years. So we will play against my neighborhood, not hometown, but it’s my home, it’s my town,” Guardiola told reporters on Friday.

“A lot of respect for their manager (Karl Robinson), in the last six games, six victories, so huge respect for what they do… and hopefully we can do a good game and make a third victory in a row. (It has been) a long time this has not happened.

Club greats from City’s rivals Manchester United, Gary and Phil Neville, David Beckham, Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs and Nicky Butt, are all part-owners of Salford.

Asked if he would be interested in owning a club in the future, Guardiola said, “I’m not good at that. I’m sometimes a good manager, but as a businessman, I’m not good.

“The generation of players (that own Salford) won a lot of titles and made a lot of money. But they are (also) smart people.

“I’m pretty sure of that, and when the people from football run football clubs, they always make smart decisions.”

Guardiola confirmed that defenders Ruben Dias and John Stones, along with midfielder Oscar Bobb, are not fit to play against Salford. However, goalkeeper Ederson may be available for Saturday’s match.

“Dias feels better but not ready. I don’t know when he will be. Oscar is training with the team partially. It was a fractured bone. Ederson is fine but John Stones is not.”