- Nabeel
"We will see tomorrow about De Bruyne and Walker..." – Pep Guardiola pre Liverpool Press Conference
Pep Guardiola faced the media ahead of Manchester City's FA Cup semi-final fixture against Liverpool at Wembley and provided the latest on the injury situations of Kyle Walker and Kevin De Bruyne, offered his thoughts on the fixture congestion debate and spoke about training at Millwall ahead of the game.
Pep on Sean Dyche's Burnley sacking:
"Well, first it is a surprise. He is the longest [serving] manager in the last decade [in the Premier League]. We had a really good relationship and I wish him all the best."
Pep on Atletico Madrid:
"I know my players perfectly. I didn't learn anything. I am not talking about the tunnel incident."
Pep on Grealish's reported 'Peaky Jack' nickname:
"I don't know if he is called Peaky Jack. He is incredibly loved, he is a lovely lad and has settled so quick."
Pep on injuries:
"We will see tomorrow about De Bruyne and Walker [they did not train with the team today]. Ruben Dias trained today and we will see about him."
On Walker:
"He had a big twist but it is getting better. In football, these kinds of things happen. We will see how he adapts in the next few hours, days, for the next games."
On De Bruyne:
"It is stitches in his calf. It is not a muscular injury."
Pep on Jurgen Klopp/Liverpool:
"Me and Klopp do not play so we can't surprise anyone. The surprise is not the managers it is with the players."
More on Liverpool:
"You always learn when you play Liverpool [despite playing against them often]. When you play in a short time you learn more. It is like basketball."
Pep on Grealish-Gascoigne comparisons:
"Paul Gascoigne is a good player to watch but you know better than me about Gascoigne and his comparison to Grealish."
Pep on the FA Cup:
"In six seasons we are together we have made five FA Cup semi-finals. It is amazing. Last season was quite similar to today. Hopefully, we can perform a bit better than we did against Chelsea last season. We have a chance to reach the final of the FA Cup, the FA Cup is so prestigious sometimes more prestigious than the Premier League."
More on the FA Cup:
"I would have loved to reach five finals. This would have been my dream. But I have no regrets. Win or lose I am close to them. We are now one month from the end of the season. We are in two semi-finals. We are in the Premier League top of the league. We are so satisfied but it is not enough."
Pep on Zack Steffen:
"I am going to think about it [who starts in goal]. We will discuss with the physio, of course in the FA Cup I play Zack but we will see."
Pep on his squad's readiness:
"It is what it is. It looks like I am trying to find an excuse but it is what it is. I have said many times about the schedule. Nothing is going to change. We are grateful to be in the semi-final of the FA Cup... It is a battle that is lost many times so that is why we can only dream about better conditions. We have to adapt to the broadcaster's demands. We travel here direct from Madrid. We have found that in the latter stages we get through. I have said to the players that I do not want any excuses. We need to go to Wembley and play our game."
More on the schedule:
"I would prefer what Jurgen said but I am not going to say a word so it is not going to change. It makes no sense. I support 100% Jurgen. Sir Alex Ferguson, Arsene Wenger, Jose, they have all said the same but you must adapt. It is not going to change. Broadcasters will always be there. Do whatever you want as I am too busy preparing my team. I don't say anything about it. Sometimes you play at different times, it is the situation it is what it is. It happened for one reason because we are fighting for all the titles. Does not happen if you are not battling for the titles. It is not ideal we know that, I tell the players to sleep and have massages. At 3.30 pm we will be there to try and win the game."
Pep on training at Millwall ahead of the game:
"It is exhausting to travel from Manchester to London. The people in the club tried to find somewhere near the hotel. This is why we used Millwall."
Written by: @NA1907_
Certain quotes as quoted by Manchester Evening News.
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