Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola spoke about the state of his squad ahead of the FA Cup final
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Kevin De Bruyne
Kevin De Bruyne
Manchester City have no new injury worries ahead of the FA Cup final. Pep Guardiola confirmed his options are similar to last week, allowing him to choose from most of his squad for the trip to Wembley.
Manu Akanji has returned to the team following the injury he picked up in February, and he started at Southampton last time out to provide more competition in the defence. Nico O'Reilly dropped to the bench, but has been a key figure in City's run to the FA Cup final and resurgence in the Premier League.
Nathan Ake, Oscar Bobb, and Rodri have all been training with the squad in recent weeks as they work their way back to full fitness. It remains to be seen if any will be fit enough for the final, with Guardiola keen for Rodri in particular not to suffer a setback despite him being 'much, much better'.
"I'm waiting on the doctors. When they tell me he's ready, he's going to start," he said. "We don't want to take a risk and make a setback."
Saturday will also be Kevin De Bruyne's final chance to play at Wembley - at least in a City shirt - but there is no guarantee he will start the game. The Belgian was an unused substitute in the semi-final win over Nottingham Forest and Guardiola has been known not to give into sentiment when he makes his decisions; Fernandinho was hooked at half-time in his final appearance for the Blues.
"I'm thinking just about tomorrow's game. Winning will help us for the final we have on Tuesday against Bournemouth," he said.
"I select the team for the way we play."
John Stones is the only player definitely ruled out of the game, having been sidelined since suffering an injury at the Bernabeu in the second leg of their Champions League defeat to Real Madrid in February. All other players are at least training.
City are in their third consecutive final and aiming to win the trophy for the second time in three years. They face a Palace team who have only made three finals in their history and failed to win either of their previous two.
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