Pep Guardiola confirms four players ruled out of Sheffield clash

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola addressed the media as the treble-winning Manchester City prepare to host Sheffield United at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

City secured a 3-1 victory against Everton on Wednesday night. Goals from Phil Foden, Julian Alvarez, and Bernardo Silva sealed the win at Goodison Park after the champions initially fell behind 1-0.

Once again, Norway striker Erling Haaland was absent due to injury. Alongside him, England defender John Stones, Kevin De Bruyne, and Jeremy Doku are sidelined, and Guardiola provided updates on their conditions during his press conference.

The Premier League title race has witnessed some interesting turns in the past few days. Both Arsenal and Tottenham suffered defeats on Thursday night, with West Ham and Brighton triumphing over them, respectively. As it stands, City trail leaders Liverpool by five points but have a game in hand.

Consequently, Erling Haaland won't be returning for the Sheffield United game, and John Stones has joined the injury list following his early exit against Everton. Here is the list of players expected to miss tomorrow afternoon's match.

List of injured players:

Erling Haaland (foot)

John Stones (ankle)

Jeremy Doku (muscular)

Kevin De Bruyne (hamstring)

"Nothing changed from the last game. We have the same injuries plus John Stones," Guardiola.

Meanwhile, the Spaniard opened up on the challenge from Sheffield United.

"Against a team with Chris Wilder, what it was in the past were a few problems against Sheffield. We win by a little, little margin in the past. I saw their games and it will be so, so tough," he said.

"They defend so, so deep and play long balls to McBurnie and the other ones. What they do they do really well. We try to be focused on what we have to do. Don't make mistakes," he added.

On the other hand, he shed light on the Premier League's title race and said that they should be patient.

"We have to play with intensity. It was just one game [against Everton] Always you have to make results. The lower teams in the bottom they get results. This season it's common for teams that are struggling to get the results in a more comfortable way. That's how tough it is. Let's not give up and go game-by-game," he added.

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