Manchester City will begin their journey to a new season with a trip to the Stamford Bridge. The Cityzens will travel to London to face Chelsea. Pep Guardiola’s side will hope to start the new season on a strong footing. However, their fixture against Chelsea will be a very tricky one. Pep will face one of his former protégé Enzo Maresca, who is now the coach of Chelsea.
The team from Manchester had a fairly good preseason preparation for the new season. They were able to manage a few wins. One was against Chelsea in the US tour. The other was against Manchester United in the Community Shield, which they won on penalties. Pep Guardiola assessed his squad ahead of the big game on Sunday. Everything seemed fine except for their star Midfielder Rodri being ruled out of the game.
Manchester City Star to Miss Chelsea game
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Rodri who had an exceptional display in the Euro 2024 tournament was expected to be back in the City squad. However, the Spaniard failed to pass the fitness test, thereby ruling him out for the Super Sunday fixture. The 28-year-old played in the Euro 2024 final but was removed at the start of the second half. This was due to some minor discomfort. And since then he has struggled to find fitness.
Pep Guardiola spoke about his fitness before the Sunday game in a press conference, saying “I don’t know, I didn’t see him yet. We have to start training, we will see when he moves, his body and how he feels”. Pep continued on, “Whether Rodri will play on Sunday or not. He had zero training sessions with us, he’s not ready”.
Rodri’s Importance
Rodri has been arguably one of Manchester City’s best players over the years. The Spaniard has been influential in every aspect of the team. From the aspect of playing style, down to displaying clutch moments in important games. The 28-year-old has been pivotal to City’s success over the years. The Euro winner has only been crucial for Manchester City. He has also been important for Spain. La Roja’s success in winning the Euro 2024 has Rodri’s name written as part of the pivotal members of the team. The 28-year-old won Player of the Tournament as part of the Evidence of his exceptional display.
Pep Guardiola will hope the Spaniard isn’t out for too long. Manchester City’s record without him has been unimpressive. Last season in the three major games the Spaniard missed, they lost all. City will hope that doesn’t happen against Chelsea.
Pep Guardiola ahead of the Chelsea Game
Aside from Rodri Pep also assessed the situation on the ground with the team. Oscar Bobb who suffered a fracture to the bone will be out for 3 to 4 months. It is expected that the Norwegian young star will perform surgery on his leg. The Manchester City coach also talked about other issues concerning the remaining players. He said, “I don’t know. Just two, three training sessions. They arrived fit. In the professional world the players take care even in the holidays”.
He continued saying “So we’ll see. Today, tomorrow, and Sunday we will see the lineup. But I’m pretty sure they are ready maybe not for 90 minutes, maybe yes maybe for a few minutes”
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