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Man City: Guardiola Gives Team’s Injury Update Ahead Of Aston Villa Clash
Manchester City’s Nathan Ake, Kyle Walker, & Ederson are all dealing with injuries, with Ake having been substituted after just 27 minutes in City’s recent match against Arsenal.
While Walker and Ederson missed that game, there is hope that John Stones could make a return for the upcoming match against Aston Villa, according to Pep Guardiola.
Guardiola did not specify when Ake, Walker, or Ederson are expected to return. City, currently in third place with 64 points, are set to face Villa in their next match on Wednesday.
Guardiola told reporters “John has to feel fully fit. But the injury was less than we expected. We’ll see. Maybe next game he’ll be ready. ” “(Ake) Hopefully, he will be back soon. I don’t know exactly the timing. Next game he won’t be ready.”
Pep Guardiola commended Aston Villa manager Unai Emery for his transformative impact on the club since taking over from former England midfielder Steven Gerrard in October 2022. City experienced a 1-0 defeat against Villa, who currently sit fourth in the table in December last year.
Guardiola stated “(It’s) excellent, the way they play. Unai Emery has consistency every season. They’ve been impressive. It’s no surprise, the quality of him, his management and the team,”
“I haven’t watched all their games, but I think they’ll play with the same system & ideas”.
“They’re good on set-pieces & in transition, with two quick players up front. They have a strong backline & an exceptional goalkeeper. That’s why they are where they are.”Guardiola said that his side cannot afford to drop any more points with nine games to go.
“It’s just winning games, that’s what we have to do,” he added.
“Villa is playing to qualify for the Champions League, every team plays for something, so the last few games will be difficult to manage”.
“When we were able to win a lot of games in a row before, we weren’t thinking about how many we were able to do. I would like to tell you but I don’t know. All I can do is prepare well against Aston Villa.”
