Manchester City star Sergio Gomez has somewhat dismissed Pep Guardola’s claim that he “has no players” to pick for his team’s clash with Liverpool on Thursday, explaining that he is “ready” and looking to “play an important role” for the Sky Blues.
The former Barcelona manager has expressed concern that many of his players are still not back to full fitness after their World Cup efforts, but Gomez, who has yet to appear for Spain in the absolute and was not part of Luis Enrique. team in Qatar, he has insisted that he is looking forward to the League Cup clash with Jurgen Klopp’s team.
“The players who were in Abu Dhabi during the small pre-season had the opportunity to prepare for the upcoming games,” Gomez told Man City’s official website (via the Liverpool Echo). “For some other players there may be less time to prepare.
“We need all the players on our team and when they return from the World Cup we hope they feel strong and ready to play again. I feel ready to play and I hope to play an important role.”
READ MORE: Arthur’s agent on possible loan payoff and re-signing next year
Guardiola’s concerns seem exaggerated when one considers that Erling Haaland, Ilkay Gundogan, Kevin De Bruyne and Riyad Mahrez were just some of the players who played for the Sky Blues on Saturday when they hosted Spain’s Girona in a friendly.
Hopefully that quartet will be named in the starting XI for the visiting FA Cup champions, while Kyle Walker, John Stones and Kalvin Phillips have had more than enough time to recover after England were knocked out of the Cup. of the World in the quarterfinal stage.
Meanwhile, the Anfield side are expected to have Jordan Henderson and Trent Alexander-Arnold available for the trip to the Etihad, while Klopp has confirmed Virgil van Dijk will be rested.
It looks like Guardiola is trying to play some kind of mind game by saying he has no players available and hopefully we can put on a show when we start our League Cup defence.
Exclusive: Every word of our Sofyan Amrabat interview with Аnas Bakhkhar: Will the Moroccan sign for the Reds?
