Pep Guardiola gives big fitness update on key Man City players ahead of FA Cup final

Jack Grealish, Kevin De Bruyne, Ruben Dias and Manuel Akanji all missed the champions’ final Premier League game of the season at Brentford last week.

Andy Hampson
Saturday 03 June 2023 09:26 BST
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'It's how you will be that moment' - Guardiola on FA Cup final against Man Utd

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Pep Guardiola has eased concerns over the fitness of a number of key Manchester City players ahead of the FA Cup final against Manchester United on Saturday.

Jack Grealish, Kevin De Bruyne, Ruben Dias and Manuel Akanji all missed the champions’ final Premier League game of the season at Brentford last week.

Those players have all since returned to training and are expected to come back into contention for both the Wembley showpiece and next weekend’s Champions League final in Istanbul.

City manager Guardiola said: “They’ve trained well in the last two training sessions. They are all of them, more or less, fine.”

Guardiola has also confirmed second-choice goalkeeper Stefan Ortega will start at Wembley, in keeping with his usual policy for domestic cup fixtures.

The German, who started two of the last three Premier League games, has not yet conceded in the FA Cup this season.

Guardiola said: “Stefan is going to play. I have always been like that in the FA Cup. The keeper who has played in the FA Cup is going to play in the FA Cup (final).”

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