Pep Guardiola Eyes Third Consecutive Win as Manchester City Host Salford City

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola is seeking a morale-boosting win in the FA Cup tie against Salford City on Saturday.

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola is eager to secure a morale-boosting win in Saturday's FA Cup tie with Salford City. After a drastic slump in form, City have arrested the slide with back-to-back Premier League wins over Leicester City and West Ham United. Guardiola emphasized the importance of securing a third consecutive win, saying it would be a significant morale boost for his side.

The City boss expressed admiration for Salford City's recent form, with the fourth-tier side having secured six consecutive victories. “A lot of respect for their manager (Karl Robinson), in the last six games, six victories, so huge respect for what they do... and hopefully we can do a good game and make a third victory in a row,” Guardiola told reporters on Friday.

Guardiola also shared a personal connection to Salford, where he has lived for the past eight years. “Well, I've lived in Salford for the last eight years. So we will play against my own neighbourhood, not hometown but it's my home, it's my town,” he said. A win on Saturday would be City's first three-game winning streak since October, and Guardiola acknowledged it has been “a long time this has not happened.”

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola was asked about the ownership of Salford City, which includes several Manchester United legends such as Gary and Phil Neville, David Beckham, Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs, and Nicky Butt. When questioned if he would consider owning a club in the future, Guardiola replied, “I'm not good at that. I'm sometimes a good manager, but as a businessman, I'm not good.”

Guardiola expressed admiration for the smart decisions made by the former Manchester United players who own Salford City. “The generation of players (that own Salford) won a lot of titles and made a lot of money. But they are (also) smart people. I'm pretty sure of that and when the people from football run football clubs, always they take smart decisions.”

PEP 💬 Ederson is fine and John Stones, no [he is not ready]. pic.twitter.com/UBbYn17EGI

— Manchester City (@ManCity) January 10, 2025

Guardiola provided an update on the availability of several Manchester City players ahead of the FA Cup tie against Salford City. “Dias feels better but not ready. I don’t know when he will be. Oscar is training with the team partially. It was a fractured bone. Ederson is fine but John Stones is not,” he said, confirming that Ruben Dias, John Stones, and Oscar Bobb would not be ready to feature, while goalkeeper Ederson might play on Saturday.