Featured Image Credit: Getty
Topics: Pep Guardiola, Manchester City, Champions League, Paris Saint-Germain
Ryan Smart
Topics: Pep Guardiola, Manchester City, Champions League, Paris Saint-Germain
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has made a surprise decision ahead of his side's Champions League clash against PSG at Parc des Princes.
Guardiola's side enter their seventh Champions League fixture of the season knowing that a defeat could drop them out of the qualification places for the play-off round.
They have lost two of their last three matches in the competition, with the most recent of those being a 2-0 defeat at Juventus back in December.
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But City have to begun to turn around a run of form that saw them win just two of 14 matches either side of the new year, and have now won four of their last 15 matches in all competitions.
Defensive frailties were still on display, though, in their 2-2 draw with Brentford last Tuesday, which saw Guardiola's side fail to hold on to a two-goal lead in the second half.
Now, the Spaniard has sprung a major surprise with his pre-match preparations ahead of the PSG clash, which takes place on Wednesday.
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According to the Daily Mirror, Guardiola didn't use a single eligible defender during the first part of the team's final training session before travelling to France.
That included any player who has filled in as part of the back four, such as midfielder Matheus Nunes.
Guardiola is clearly keeping his cards close to his chest in terms of his team selection in Paris, with new centre-backs Abdukodir Khusanov and Vitor Reis the only players available. Neither player is eligible to be registered for the group stage of the competition.
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Notably, the absentees included Kyle Walker, who has been linked with a move to AC Milan after telling Guardiola that he wanted to leave City.
Speaking about Walker's situation earlier this month, the Spaniard commented: "In his mind, he would like to explore it, to go to another country to play the last years, for many reasons.
"For that reason, I prefer playing other players whose mind is here."