Manchester City boss is very optimistic that he will be able to play the Brazilians in their Premier League next match. The situation is unclear with FIFA, and as many as eight players will face suspension in their next league fixture.
The Cityzens were one of the five Premier League clubs which stopped their players from travelling to the red-listed South American countries. Since then, the Brazilian Football Association cited a FIFA rule that stops players from playing for their clubs if they are not released for international duty. Hence, both Ederson and Jesus’ availability is a major question for Guardiola.
Also, City’s second-choice goalkeeper Zack Steffen has tested positive for COVID-19 and is automatically out of the Leicester encounter. Therefore Guardiola is forced to field third-choice keeper Scott Carson. The 36-year-old custodian has not played a single Premier League match for the last 11 years.
“Hopefully, they (Ederson and Gabriel Jesus) can play. We’ll wait and see if there is good news,” Guardiola told at the pre match news conference.
“Hopefully they can play. We will wait and see tomorrow if there is some news but we are going to have to wait until tomorrow to see if they can play or not.
“I don’t understand the situation because I don’t know what we have to do. It’s an honour when our players go to their national teams to play for the country where they were born.
In their Premier League opener, City were defeated 0-1 by Tottenham Hotspur. However, they came back in form with back to back 5-0 wins against Norwich City and Arsenal.
However, with two of their best goalkeepers out, Pep’s men will have a tough task against Leicester City.