Pep Guardiola hands Manchester City fitness update ahead of Southampton clash | OneFootball

Speaking in a press conference on Friday afternoon, Pep Guardiola has provided an update on the fitness of the Manchester City first-team ahead of their Premier League meeting with Southampton on Saturday.

City have put themselves in pole position to secure a third-place Premier League finish with five wins in their last six league outings as they look to book a place in next season’s UEFA Champions League group-stage.

Kevin De Bruyne, who is leaving at the end of the season, scored the only goal as Manchester City claimed a 1-0 win over Wolves at the Etihad Stadium in their most recent league fixture, which means the Blues need two wins in their final three games to guarantee a top five finish.

Erling Haaland and Rodri have returned to training in recent weeks as the former recovered from an ankle injury he picked up in City’s 2-1 win over Bournemouth in the FA Cup quarter-final in April – and the latter finishing rehab after sustaining an ACL injury in September 2024.

Pep Guardiola has struggled with several key absentees in crucial positions since the start of the season but the last few weeks have seen Manuel Akanji and Nathan Ake return to training as well, with John Stones yet to be in contention.

Oscar Bobb has not featured much since his long-awaited return from a series of injuries this season and Norway National Team manager Stale Solbakken has this week offered an explanation for the 21-year-old’s lack of game time in the last month.

Ederson was back in goal against Wolves after a period out with injury and it remains to be seen whether the Brazilian, who has been linked with a summer exit amid interest from the Saudi Pro League, will keep his place in goal for the FA Cup final – or whether Guardiola will call on Stefan Ortega Moreno against Crystal Palace.

Speaking in a press conference on Friday afternoon, Guardiola provided an update on the state of his squad’s fitness ahead of their trip to St. Mary’s on Saturday as they face relegated Southampton on Matchday 36 of the Premier League campaign.

Haaland is “fit” and “ready to start” against Southampton, Guardiola confirmed, adding that a decision on whether the Norwegian will make the starting XI will taken closer to kick-off in the south coast.

Guardiola added that Rodri is “still not available” whilst the duo of Ake and Bobb have “started training partially but remain unavailable” for Saturday’s fixture.