Guardiola gets De Bruyne fillip ahead of Wolves trip

Pep Guardiola has been boosted by the fitness of Manchester City’s “incredible” Kevin de Bruyne as they travel to face Wolves on Friday.

Guardiola confirmed that the Belgian is fit to play after coming off in City’s 3-1 victory over Leicester on Saturday.

The City boss hailed the midfielder’s display in that match as “incredible”.

“Kevin de Bruyne was incredible tonight – he won the game for us. He has always been incredible since we’ve been together. His commitment is incredible. He’s a spectacular player,” Guardiola said after the game.

Guardiola said De Bruyne was suffering from cramp and will be in contention to feature on Friday, the Manchester Evening News reported.

However, Guardiola expects to be without Sergio Aguero, David Silva and John Stones for Friday’s game at the Molineux.

Aguero – who has scored 13 times this season – returned from the thigh injury he sustained in City’s 2-1 win against Chelsea on November 23 to face Leicester last weekend, but Guardiola conceded the Argentine was still not fit enough to complete 90 minutes, with Gabriel Jesus set to start up front, the Manchester Evening News said.

Guardiola also does not expect defender Stones to be fit to face Wolves, and says Silva is yet to reach full fitness.

Both have been absent since the Manchester derby, on Dec.8, when Stones suffered a hamstring injury.

Silva has been absent with a leg problem. While the Spanish midfielder is improving, he has not fully recovered, Guardiola said.

Meanwhile, Guardiola responded to comments from former club captain Vincent Kompany who urged City to sign his old boss to a long-term contract.

“If I was in a deciding position at City now, I would do everything I can to keep Pep for as long as I can. He is truly the best,” said Kompany.

“To say anyone will ever come near, it is speculating in a ludicrous way.”

Guardiola is under contract until after the end of the 2020-21 season and has repeatedly insisted he will see out his current deal, despite reports that he has a “break” clause which would allow him to leave City following the conclusion of the current campaign.

“This season is the fourth season and one more, next season will be five because I’m trying to stay here next season too,” he said.

The former Barcelona and Bayern Munich manager added: “That’s a long time. I’m incredibly good here.

“To sign a contract, you have to see how it works and if I deserve it,” explained Guardiola, whose side are 11 points behind runaway Premier League leaders Liverpool.

“We’ve increased our levels a lot and the expectations are higher. We’ll see if we can handle it. It’s not just my desire. [Now there was Christmas] with the family and we have time to think about the future.”

Meanwhile, Ederson says he loves the style of football City play under Pep Guardiola.

The Brazilian stopper joined City in 2017 and has enjoyed significant success already.

His first year saw City win the Premier League with 100 points – a top-flight English record – before last season’s unprecedented Fourmidables campaign that saw us win every major domestic honour.

City’s approach was revolutionised by his arrival, with his ball-playing ability adding a new dimension to the team’s play and helping fully realise Guardiola’s vision.

He admits it’s a high-risk strategy but says he loves it.

“Since I arrived at Manchester City, it was very clear the way Pep Guardiola wanted me to play,” he said.

“I had to train a lot to adapt to our style of play.

“I’m very happy with our style of football.

“For a goalkeeper, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. But that is the life of a goalkeeper.

“For a football player, the best moment is the match day. You need to enjoy the games, so every game I play I try to enjoy as best as I can.

“I’m very happy at Manchester City, it is a club that accommodated me and my family very well, so we have a great affection towards the club.”

Agencies