Pep Guardiola explains Kevin De Bruyne & Aymeric Laporte omission from RB Leipzig game
By Tom Gott
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has confirmed that Kevin De Bruyne and Aymeric Laporte have both been left out of the travelling squad to face RB Leipzig because of illness.
De Bruyne and Laporte both played major roles in the weekend's 1-1 draw with Nottingham Forest and so it came as a surprise to see that neither had made the squad for Wednesday's game, with the duo instead remaining at home alongside the injured John Stones.
Asked for an explanation, Guardiola confirmed there was a simple one.
"Kevin and Laporte are illness. They are not ready. I don't know [if they will recover for the weekend]." he said.
"It's a blow for both, it is what is during the season, unfortunately. [De Bruyne] didn't feel good right after the game with Forest on Sunday, yesterday Aymer didn't feel good. It happens sometimes."
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Losing two starters poses real problems for Guardiola as he prepares to take his City side to Leipzig for what promises to be a tricky affair.
City had been building momentum in recent weeks, including two victories over Premier League leaders Arsenal, and the latest draw with Forest has not dampened Guardiola's spirits.
"The team is there, I have the feeling," he continued. "We won in London against Arsenal, when maybe we weren't who we are, but we competed really, really well. Without that, it's impossible to achieve that result. The way we played that game, we had something we had in the past, resilience.
"The last game against Nottingham was the highest standards. I loved the way we played, we didn't win because it's football. Sometimes that happens, I cannot have an answer on what happened for this type of situation.
"But today we trained and the team is there. That doesn't mean we're going to win or get results, but I have a good feeling. Honestly."