Manchester City v Brentford in the fourth round of the English Premier League at 22:00 BST tonight.
City boss Pep Guardiola discussed a number of aspects of his team in depth in his pre-match press conference, including player performances, fixture scheduling and team culture, among many others.
Firstly, Pep Guardiola spoke highly of the England players' performances on international days. He singled out Gralish and Rico Lewis for showing great ability and adaptability in their respective positions. On the performance of Grealish in the position behind the striker, Guardiola said that he is perfectly capable of playing in that position and expects him to play like that at Manchester City. Rico Lewis, on the other hand, has shown Guardiola his potential as an intelligent player with his inside-out performances at left-back.
Speaking about De Bruyne's comments after the Belgium match, Guardiola said he didn't talk to De Bruyne directly about it, but he saw De Bruyne's positive attitude and good form from the training. This undoubtedly injected a shot in the arm for the team and made fans look forward to De Bruyne's performance in the new season.
In addition, Guardiola spoke about City's fourth kit of the season, which was released in honor of Oasis' debut album. He praised the shirt for its great design, with beautiful colors and details. At the same time, he also revealed a little anecdote about how he doesn't actually play the guitar even though he was photographed with it.
In terms of fixture scheduling, Guardiola expressed his helplessness and dissatisfaction. He believes that the current schedule is too tight, posing a great challenge to the physical and mental state of the players. He particularly mentioned the experience of playing the FA Cup semi-final immediately after the Champions League quarter-final last season, believing that such an arrangement is very unfair to the players. He called on broadcasters and tournament organizers to give more consideration to the interests of the players and the situation of the teams, and to make reasonable arrangements for the fixtures.
Speaking about the captain's vote, Guardiola said that the team is ready to vote, but he himself will not be involved in the voting process. He believes that the players will be able to make the right choice according to their wishes and the needs of the team.
Finally, Guardiola summarized the changes and development of Grealish at Manchester City. He believes that Gralish has experienced ups and downs and ups and downs in his career at Manchester City, but he has always maintained his outstanding ability and potential. He expects that Gralish will continue to play well in the new season and contribute more to the team.
