Before crucial matches against Manchester United and Inter Milan, Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola gave an unsettling report on the health of Jack Grealish and Ruben Dias.
The two were among a number of players who did not play in Manchester City’s sad 1-0 loss to Brentford on Sunday afternoon in West London, ending Pep Guardiola’s team’s Premier League campaign in defeat.
With a late goal from Ethan Pinnock, the Bees became the first Premier League team to defeat Manchester City twice this year, snapping City’s record 25-game winning streak.
The Premier League champions concluded the season with 89 points, five more than second-place Arsenal, and the 1-0 setback was the Blues’ first on the final day of the season in more than ten years.
For the encounter against Brentford on Sunday, Pep Guardiola made a number of substitutions, including Erling Haaland, Ilkay Gundogan, and Bernardo Silva.
The matchday squad was without Ruben Dias, Jack Grealish, and Kevin De Bruyne. Dias and Grealish have missed both games since last weekend’s 1-0 victory against Chelsea at the Etihad Stadium.
In order to become the first team to successfully complete the treble since 1999, City must win both the UEFA Champions League Final in Istanbul and the FA Cup Final against Manchester United in less than a week.
Before these finals, Guardiola gave an unsettling update on the health of Dias and Grealish by stating that both had missed more than a week of first-team practise.
The City manager admitted after the game that neither Ruben Dias nor Jack Grealish had trained for ten days.
Kevin [De Bruyne] experienced the same emotions following Brighton as he had a few weeks prior. They were unable to play several games. It’s not a major problem. They should be prepared for Wembley, in my opinion.
The first FA Cup Final between the two regional rivals in the competition’s history will take place on Saturday at Wembley Stadium between the Blues and Manchester United.
In October, City defeated United 6-3 at the Etihad Stadium, but in the rematch in January, they lost 2-1 at Old Trafford.
Next weekend, Manchester City will try to win the FA Cup for the first time since 2019, while United will try to win both domestic cup competitions after taking home the League Cup in February.