Manchester City set to kick off Premier League campaign at home to Sunderland tomorrow
John Stones may feature against Sunderland
Pep Guardiola is “80-90% clear” on his starting line-up for tomorrow’s Premier League opening fixture against Sunderland, and new signing John Stones may feature.
He’d only been in training a matter of days but the Spaniard was clearly impressed by what he’s seen and was glad that City completed the deal in the end.
“It’s important for us to have a young, English player with a huge talent. Not just to defend but for the build-up, his intelligence and the ability to play through the lines. He’s a good, good player.”
Guardiola also confirmed the availability of other players, however, with Eliaquim Mangala, Kevin De Bruyne, Bacary Sagna all in contention for a place in tomorrow’s starting lineup.
There is a slight doubt over Nicolas Otamendi, as Guardiola explained:
“He has a problem with his tendon. He will be fit but we have a little eye on the game in Romania so we’ll see tomorrow whether he will play against Sunderland.”
Leroy Sane out through injury
One player who won’t be playing, though, is Leroy Sane. Guardiola confirmed that the German would miss tomorrow’s game through injury but expected him to return next week to full training.
This summer’s transfer dealings may not be over, however, and with three players notably left out of City’s Champions League squad list (Mangala, Bony and Nasri) Guardiola hinted that there could be more movement.
The Spaniard noted that player performances over the next three weeks might determine the the next move into the transfer market.
To illustrate the point, Guardiola said something for City fans to take to heart: “To create something, we need time. But to play with soul, with something inside, you don’t need time.”
Perhaps a little extra motivation for the players that want to participate in Pep’s City revolution?