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Pep Guardiola has expressed high hopes for Manchester City’s ability to bounce back from their first three-game losing streak since 2018. The manager believes the team’s issues are solvable and is determined to steer the squad back to form.
If Manchester City were to fall to Brighton on Saturday, it would mark Pep Guardiola’s first-ever four-match losing streak in his storied career, a challenging milestone for the manager.
The reigning Premier League champions are grappling with injury woes, chief among them the long-term absence of Ballon d’Or winner Rodri, who will miss the remainder of the season.
Guardiola won’t have any of his injured players available this weekend, but he is hopeful that the imminent international break will provide a chance for the squad to recover and return to full strength.
“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.
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After exiting the League Cup to Tottenham and suffering a first Premier League loss since December at Bournemouth, City were thrashed 4-1 by Sporting Lisbon in the Champions League in midweek.
However, Guardiola dismissed the suggestion he could learn more about his players from their tough run compared to 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.
But Kevin De Bruyne could make his first Premier League appearance for two months, while Jeremy Doku, Savinho, Manuel Akanji and Kyle Walker are expected to make the squad.
