Pep Guardiola was unavailable for Manchester City's press conference on Friday ahead of the Premier League clash with Tottenham as the reason has been made clear
Richard Cusack Sport Content Editor
11:57, 30 Jan 2026Updated 12:09, 30 Jan 2026
Pep Guardiola speaks onstage during the Concert-Manifesto x Palestine at Palau Sant Jordi
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Pep Guardiola will not attend Manchester City's pre-match press conference for the clash with Spurs(Image: Gisela Jane/Getty Images)
Pep Lijnders will step in for Manchester City's media duties on Friday, ahead of their Premier League clash with Tottenham.
With Pep Guardiola unavailable, his deputy Lijnders will handle the press conference before the team resumes training on Saturday to gear up for another crucial Premier League encounter.
This marks the third time in two months that Guardiola has been absent from a City press conference. Last month, Kolo Toure took over media duties prior to their Premier League match against Crystal Palace, while Lijnders filled in following the 10-1 thrashing of Exeter in the FA Cup Final - a game Guardiola was suspended from due to accumulating three yellow cards in domestic competitions.
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Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola issued a worrying update on Ederson before seeing Nathan Ake limp off against Arsenal
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Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola issued a worrying update on Ederson before seeing Nathan Ake limp off against Arsenal
Despite speaking at an Act X Palestine event in Barcelona on Thursday evening, Guardiola is still expected to lead the team for their Spurs showdown, but won't be able to attend the scheduled pre-match press conference.
Lijnders will take his place before resuming his usual role as City aim to stay competitive in the Premier League title race, reports the Manchester Evening News.
City's recent 2-0 victory over Wolves marked their first league win in five matches, and with Arsenal suffering a home defeat to United, the gap at the top of the table has shrunk to four points with 15 games remaining. Although Arsenal have the chance to widen the gap again when they face Leeds on Saturday, City are drawing confidence from the Gunners' recent struggles to pull away.
Pep Guardiola speaks onstage during the Concert-Manifesto x Palestine at Palau Sant Jordi
View 3 Images
Pep Guardiola will not attend Man City's pre-match press conference vs Tottenham(Image: Gisela Jane/Getty Images)
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"In my experience here in England, Liverpool have won two league titles and we have won six, so I've never have experienced Arsenal winning the league," said captain Bernardo Silva.
"But the truth is that at the moment they're in a better position than us. I've recently said that both teams would still drop points, but unfortunately we started the year in a negative form as we could've gained an emotional advantage and we didn't.
"And then they could've distanced themselves from us even further but they didn't, so they gave us a bit of hope. There's still a lot of games to be played and every season is different. Without a doubt we still have hope and ambition to fight for this Premier League."