Manchester City’s defense will be strengthened by the return of John Stones, manager Pep Guardiola said, as City prepares to resume Champions League action at Paris St Germain Stadium on Wednesday.
Two wins in six games left the 2023 winners in 22nd place in the Champions League table with eight points. Guardiola, however, is confident that his team can put the struggles of the last two months behind them with Stones, Ruben Dias and others returning to the squad.
The 30-year-old Stones, who has been struggling with a foot injury since early November, last played in December in a 2-1 league defeat against Aston Villa, where he was forced off at half-time.
Stones scored three goals in 12 appearances before being sidelined.
Fellow defender Dias, who missed five league games through injury, played the full 90 minutes in Sunday’s 6-0 win over Ipswich Town and is also in good form.
“Ruben is back, John is back and the guys up front are back as well. Thanks for that, now match by match we will see what happens,” Guardiola told reporters on Tuesday.
With two games left in the new league phase, City are looking to climb up the table. The top eight teams will automatically qualify for the Round of 16, while those placed 9th to 24th will compete in a two-legged play-off to secure a place in the Round of 16.
“Little by little the players are coming back and hopefully we can get into the Premier League and qualify here. Today John is back in the team, it’s incredibly good news for us,” Guardiola said.
“We can also add to this that we faced many problems throughout the season. We couldn’t find our rhythm and I couldn’t ask the guys who were with us (to come back sooner) because I was afraid of getting injured.”
“We couldn’t maintain the intensity that we defined over the last nine years, but I hope we (can) do it now. Now the hardest time of the season is coming… we have a challenge ahead of us and we are taking it up.
Both City and PSG have struggled in the Champions League this season, with PSG sitting in 25th place with seven points. Guardiola had kind words for PSG coach Luis Enrique, who is his friend.
“From the bottom of my heart I want a terrible performance from PSG tomorrow so that we can beat them, but 95 minutes will pass and then the relationship (with Luis Enrique) will go back to what it has always been,” he said.
“Our families are really very close. There are friendships that will last forever, forever. I love them, I think they love us. We have an amazing bond… We are happy when we can see each other.”
After the trip to France, City will face Belgian Club Brugge on January 29.
