Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola stated on Friday that his Premier League champions had been hit by fresh coronavirus cases ahead of their match with Chelsea.
The league leaders have been with out 21 personnel, together with Guardiola and 7 senior gamers, for final week’s FA Cup third-round win at Swindon after constructive exams for Covid-19.
Chelsea boss Tuchel cited the absences of key players following positive tests at the London club as one of the reasons why champions City have pulled 10 points clear at the top of the Premier League.
“They did not suffer from Covid as we did over many weeks, so this is a huge difference,” said the German ahead of Saturday’s clash between the two clubs at the Etihad Stadium.
His remarks come after Liverpool defender Virgil Van Dijk suggested City may have had more luck than the Merseysiders throughout the recent wave of Omicron-inflated infections.
Some first-team regulars have returned forward of the house match towards second-placed Chelsea on Saturday, which continues to be anticipated to go forward as scheduled.
"Some people are coming, some people are positive again," Guardiola stated at a pre-match press conference. When you might have examined as soon as, twice unfavorable you come again. In any other case not. We have some fresh cases, but they ask for confidentiality, so I can't tell you about them."
While speaking with reporters, the City Manager coughed, but said he felt good after returning to work. "Yes, we are OK," the City boss said when asked about his family. "Thank you very much."
The festive schedule in English football's top-flight was severely disrupted by postponements, with clubs struggling to field sides due to rising Covid cases and injuries.