Manchester City confirmed Pep Guardiola did not take the prematch press conference ahead of Sunday’s fixture with Tottenham Hotspur because of a “personal reason.” The manager had been present and upbeat during a midweek debrief, where he said he would call José Mourinho to thank him for defeating Real Madrid with Benfica and securing City’s passage to the round of 16.

On Thursday evening Guardiola spoke at a charity concert in Barcelona, describing his remarks as “a statement for Palestine and … a statement for humanity” and addressing the audience with: “Good evening, salam alaikum, how wonderful,” before speaking of children caught in the conflict: “When I see a child in these past two years with these images on social media, on television, recording himself, pleading, ‘Where is my mother?’ among the rubble and he still doesn’t know it. ]”

Assistant coach John Lijnders confirmed that Guardiola “will arrive back here in Manchester” on Friday, allowing time for travel to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium ahead of the Sunday game.

Tottenham’s ground has been a difficult venue for Guardiola. City’s trips to N17 have followed a recurring pattern: sustained pressure from City met by Spurs’ resilience and swift, clinical transitions. City failed to score with their first 101 shots at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium until Nathan Aké bundled one in the 88th minute of the 2024 FA Cup fourth round tie between the clubs.

Across nine matches in N17, City have faced five managers, recorded three wins, zero draws and six defeats, scored three goals and registered 137 shots. Recent visits have brought slightly better returns, but Thomas Frank’s current Tottenham have already beaten the Sky Blues this season. Guardiola has reflected on the difficulty at the venue more than once: “Many times it happened we played really good, many, many times, we were not able to score and win the games.”

Marc Guéhi has said conversations with John Stones and Phil Foden were decisive in his decision to move to Manchester City now rather than wait to become a free agent and potentially join Liverpool. City had the option to delay signing Guéhi until his Crystal Palace contract expired, a route that would likely have reopened interest from Liverpool after a September deal collapsed. Bayern Munich and Real Madrid were also linked as potential suitors.

The move was brought forward by an immediate need at the Etihad. Stones, Rúben Dias and Joško Gvardiol were all injured and Nathan Aké has had to have his minutes carefully managed, creating urgency for defensive reinforcements.

“We’ve been talking for quite a while and obviously talked with different clubs,” Guéhi told reporters following his City debut in Saturday’s 2–0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers. “I felt from conversations, through talking with some of the players here, that this was the place for me to improve, to get better and just to help as much as possible. Phil and John, conversations with the manager, conversations with [director of football] Hugo [Viana], so it’s been great.”

Guéhi has played with both Foden and Stones at international level with England, and has been a teammate of Foden since their first appearances for the U16s a decade ago.

Selected straight into the starting XI, Guéhi assumed the role of senior centre back, partnering 21-year-old Abdukodir Khusanov. His arrival also eased pressure on 20-year-old Max Alleyne, who dropped to the bench for the win over Wolves.

Had events taken a different course last summer, City would not have had the chance to sign Guéhi this month because he might already have been at Liverpool. The reigning champions had been close to adding him in the previous transfer window, with a £35 million agreement reached with Palace that was cancelled when the Eagles could not secure a replacement before the deadline. It was assumed Liverpool would renew their interest, but that path is now closed and Guéhi said he had been “very close” to joining.

Pep Guardiola selected a markedly different Manchester City starting XI for Saturday’s match with Wolverhampton Wanderers, with Erling Haaland and Phil Foden left out and Marc Guéhi making his Manchester City debut.

The change came after City extended a winless run to four games and suffered a damaging Champions League defeat to Bodø/Glimt on Tuesday. The manager faced difficult calls, the most notable being the omission of the squad’s most prolific striker from the starting line-up.

Haaland was named among the substitutes for the first time in a Premier League match in 267 days. He had started City’s opening 22 top-flight fixtures of the campaign and was last on a Premier League bench when Wolves visited the Etihad Stadium on May 2, 2025.

The 25-year-old has 26 goals in 31 appearances across all competitions this season but has clearly lost momentum. His only goal in the eight matches since Christmas Day was a penalty against Brighton & Hove Albion.

Guardiola previously substituted Haaland with more than 10 minutes remaining of last weekend’s Manchester derby at Old Trafford, citing a need for more energy in the team during a 2–0 defeat. In that fixture Haaland scarcely touched the ball and the manager’s decision highlighted concerns about fatigue amid a congested schedule.

Per BBC Sport, Crystal Palace’s Jean-Philippe Mateta was the only forward across Europe’s top five leagues to have played more than Haaland this season. Haaland has nonetheless featured heavily for his club, with 31 appearances and 2,569 minutes of competitive action, while Norway have called on their record goalscorer on five occasions this season.

After the midweek defeat to Bodø/Glimt, Haaland “took full responsibility” for City’s 3-1 loss, apologising to supporters for his failure to score and contributing with his fellow captains to cover expenses racked up by the travelling fans.