Guardiola Uncertain About Haaland, De Bruyne Against Crystal Palace

Manchester City showcased an exceptional performance against Aston Villa on Wednesday evening, delivering one of their standout displays of the season. Notably absent from the action, however, were star players Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne.

Despite their absence from the starting lineup, both Haaland and De Bruyne remained on the bench throughout the entirety of the match. With City preparing for a crucial Champions League quarter-final clash against Real Madrid next Tuesday, manager Pep Guardiola is uncertain whether the duo will feature in the upcoming fixture against Crystal Palace on Saturday.

“I don’t know yet,” Guardiola said during his press conference on Friday via Sky Sports when asked about the prospect of Haaland and De Bruyne returning to face Palace.

“Playing at 12:30pm and playing two days ago, I have to think. There are so many games.

“Some players recover quicker than others. A long week is completely different but a short week, you have to talk with doctors, physios and staff. We will decide tonight or tomorrow morning.”