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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
Sport
Jack Flintham

Pep Guardiola confirms four FA Cup final doubts as Man City change training plan

Guardiola confirms four City doubts

Ruben Dias hasn't trained for Manchester City for ten days, Pep Guardiola confirmed, while Jack Grealish and Kevin De Bruyne are also doubts for the FA Cup final vs Manchester United next week

De Bruyne played at Brighton on Wednesday but missed the trip to Brentford, while Grealish, Dias and Manu Akanji all missed their second games in succession. Guardiola had hinted at 'niggles' among some players after the Premier League was secured, and speaking after City's loss at the Gtech Stadium Guardiola said the quartet were 'mentally drained'.

ALSO READ: Guardiola and Ten Hag show different FA Cup final approaches

While the manager hoped all four would recover in time to face United at Wembley in six days time, Guardiola's assessment of their absences was not an optimistic one.

Read more from Guardiola here

City alter training plan ahead of finals

Guardiola says injuries and fatigue have meant that City are barely training as they go into the FA Cup and Champions League finals.

City made plenty of changes at Brentford with more than one eye on the two upcoming finals, and the mishmash side struggled for rhythm at times against Brentford. There were some bright sparks - like Cole Palmer and Rico Lewis in midfield - but ultimately Brentford's pressure earned them a famous double over the champions thanks to Ethan Pinnock's late goal.

And Guardiola said that injury problems to the likes of Kevin De Bruyne, Ruben Dias, Jack Grealish and others meant that his training sessions have been minimal in the last week since sealing the Premier League title.

Read more on City's training plans here

Get your hands on our 48-page souvenir United v City FA Cup final print supplement here

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