Pep Guardiola remains confident in his ability to address Manchester City’s recent struggles, despite losing three consecutive games for the first time since 2018.
The team’s defeat at Brighton on Saturday marks the first time in Guardiola’s illustrious career as a trophy-winning manager that they have suffered four consecutive losses.
The Premier League champions have faced significant challenges, particularly due to injuries, with the notable absence of Ballon d’Or winner Rodri for the remainder of the season.
Guardiola will not be able to welcome back any of his injured stars this weekend, but the Spaniard hopes for a cleaner bill of health after the imminent international break.
“It’s football, it has happened. We know the reason why we struggled,” Guardiola said at his pre-match press conference on Friday.
“Looking forward to the game and, after the international break, a few players will come back better and recover. For all the problems that we have, little problems that every player has, we will solve it.”
City’s three defeats have all come in different competitions.
Following their exit from the League Cup to Tottenham and their first Premier League loss since December at Bournemouth, the team suffered a 4-1 defeat to Sporting Lisbon in the Champions League midweek.
Despite these setbacks, Guardiola dismissed the notion that he could gain deeper insights into his players’ capabilities from their recent struggles compared to their successful run of winning four consecutive Premier League titles.
“They proved many times what they are capable of,” added Guardiola.
Oscar Bobb, Ruben Dias, Jack Grealish and John Stones are set to miss the trip to the Amex Stadium.
However, Kevin De Bruyne is poised to make his first Premier League appearance in two months, while Jeremy Doku, Savinho, Manuel Akanji, and Kyle Walker are anticipated to be included in the squad.
