Pep Guardiola makes Man City admission after 'a lot of doubts' ahead of Burnley victory

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·22 de abril de 2026

Pep Guardiola makes Man City admission after 'a lot of doubts' ahead of Burnley victory

Star striker was on hand to help City leapfrog Arsenal

Pep Guardiola has revealed that he had “a lot of doubts” about his team selection ahead of Manchester City’s crucial game against Burnley on Wednesday.

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City needed to win at Turf Moor to end Arsenal’s 200-day run at the top of the Premier League table, with Guardiola’s men finally reeling the Gunners’ nine-point lead in with a 1-0 victory.

That result incidentally relegated Burnley, leaving one more place in the Championship for a fallen top-flight side next term after Wolves fell through the trap door.

That could be Tottenham, who currently occupy the final spot in the drop zone.

Regardless, City moved top thanks to Erling Haaland’s sixth-minute winner at Burnley, but Guardiola admitted post-match that he had been sweating over the fitness of some of his players after their gargantuan efforts to best Arsenal 2-1 last weekend.

"I had a lot of doubts about the line-up today [vs Burnley] because of the fatigue from Sunday [vs Arsenal],” Guardiola remarked.

"I have to think perfectly about [the line-up vs Southampton], knowing that if we win it will be a good decision, and if we lose it will be a bad decision, to have fresh legs in the FA Cup semi-finals."

City were without three key players for the trip to Turf Moor, with the most prominent being Rodri, who hobbled off injured at the weekend with a groin problem.

Ruben Dias and Josko Gvardiol are the others that are still sidelined.

City will have another game in hand later on this term in a crazy Premier Leagur title run-in - with their fixture against Crystal Palace postponed.

Guardiola’s men do not play this weekend thanks to their Wembley showdown with Championship Southampton, who dumped Arsenal out of the FA Cup in the quarter-finals.

Arsenal, meanwhile, host Newcastle United at the Emirates Stadium and have the chance to reclaim top spot should they avoid defeat.