Empty seats at Wembley Stadium and more Nico O’Reilly praise – Every Word from Pep Guardiola’s Nottingham Forest preview press conference | OneFootball

Pep Guardiola has put together his final thoughts ahead of Manchester City’ FA Cup semi-final meeting with Nottingham Forest on Sunday afternoon.

The four-in-a-row Premier League champions have one final shot and lifting their campaign following months of disappointment that saw them record early exits from the top-flight title race and UEFA Champions League.

The Carabao Cup did not bring too much joy either have crashed out at the hands of Tottenham Hotspur in round four, while this weekend could see City reach the FA Cup final for a third consecutive season.

Manchester City enjoyed a morale boosting win in midweek as they took a giant leap towards UEFA Champions League qualification with a last-minute winner against Aston Villa at the Etihad Stadium courtesy of Matheus Nunes.

Nottingham Forest will be no easy task on Sunday afternoon as Nuno Espirito Santo’s side continue to impress across all competitions and themselves going in search of a European place for next season.

Now, following the release of Pep Guardiola’s preview press conference ahead of Sunday afternoon’s meeting with Nottingham Forest at Wembley Stadium, here is every single word from the Manchester City manager!

On 5,000 unsold Manchester City tickets vs Nottingham Forest defending the argument of moving FA Cup semi-finals to more geographically neutral stadiums

“Yeah, one day maybe the FA Cup will be played here in the North; come here to Old Trafford, Etihad or Anfield or Goodison Park – maybe they come here! I understand the people. I’m not the person to say all around the world people suffer economically and I understand completely it’s not easy for them.

“We would love, but I understand they don’t come. We will play for the people who come to Wembley, for the people who would like to come and they cannot come. That is what I have to try to do. I would love to be there but listen, I understand completely.

“I’m pretty sure they would love to come but they don’t come – it’s because they can’t and I am close to them to understand perfectly.”

On whether he still gets nervous, or if he has ever had any superstitions

“Yeah it’s a little bit different than my first final for example in Barcelona, my first title there or here, it’s a little bit (different), of course, but now I’m relaxed, tomorrow we’ll prepare, but of course when we arrive in Wembley we’ll be preparing the game as best as possible and learn for the game we played not a long time ago against Nottingham Forest away and learn from that on what they do, what they can do and try to let them feel the type of game we are going to face.”

On empty seats

“They would come, they would come. They cannot because the situation is difficult. For travel, the people on Monday work and maybe they will arrive late. The prices or the tickets and the people cannot do it, so what can I say?

“I said before, we’ll do it, I understand completely. They don’t come. I’m pretty sure they would love to go there. It happened in the past, this season has not happened, it’s okay!”

On affects on the atmosphere on Manchester City’s players

“Listen, we have to do it with them or without them, we have to do it. Our job is to do our best job. It’s better with our people but I’m not complaining at all. So completely the opposite, I’m alongside them but the people would like to come, they cannot come.”

On handling Kevin De Bruyne hurting after Manchester City’s decision on his future

“Prepare the game with the feelings that he has, the feelings that he has and all the players have, I understand completely. I understand. So it cannot be otherwise. And we wish, I wish personally for him and his family, of course on behalf of all the club, all the best.

“But he behaved unbelievably all these years, this month again, will happen until the end and he’s trained really good, he’s playing and helping us with his skills and his talents and I know he wants the best for the club.

“This is only I’m concerned to prepare the game against Nottingham Forest not thinking much further than that.”

On the difficulty of making decisions on letting players go

“By far (it’s one of the hardest jobs). I have lived a lot of things with them, we have lived a lot of things with them, a lot. Good moments, terrible bad moments, terrible good moments and without them – Sergio (Aguero), David Silva and all the players like we can make a long long list because when we are nine years here there are a lot of players that come in and after they leave and they are part of my life, they are part of what we have lived here. It’s impossible to don’t feel it. So of course it’s so difficult, of course it is.”

On Kevin De Bruyne not wanting to play for Manchester City at the FIFA Club World Cup

“I don’t know any info about that.”

On what Nico O’Reilly has given to stay in the Manchester City team

“Physicality, his presence, he’s attacking midfielder, he’s composed with the ball, surprised how defensively attentive he is, he has pace, gives us an extra player on set pieces that helps us because we are weak in that in that position, his generosity to play in a position he’s not used to and giving everything for the team.

“So in the back-four now we are stable, we have pace with Josko (Gvardiol), with Mateus (Nunes) and Nico (O’Reilly) because they are so fast and the intelligence and leadership and unbelievable leadership from Ruben (Dias). So mainly that is the reason why.”

On whether it helps to have a player who understands attacking patterns while at left-back

“It’s a movement for strikers that I would love to do, my strikers do that movement. I would love it. Always I’ve said, do you want to score the goals, finish in front of the keeper, in front and you’ll score goals and he did it.

“As much closer you are to the keeper, more chance to score a goal, that’s for sure. And he did it. Because he’s an attacking midfielder, I’ve said many times. When you put him in the role for the cross, the movement is there. He felt it and now he adapted in a position that he used.

“And we can open with him, now we play Jeremy (Doku), we can open with Jeremy and he plays a position as an attacking midfielder like Fabian Delph, Alex (Zinchenko) or João (Cancelo) or many many full-backs play in that position.

“So the ductility, it helps us a lot, you know, to do it. Because Jeremy feels more comfortable outside than inside, but Nico can play inside and outside. When arriving outside left foot, makes two or three or four crosses like, for example, with Erling (Haaland) will be so valuable by playing inside when the ball is outside, make runs to arrive in the box.

“At the end, the people, the players, the people, the players can say no you do it but you know in any role you have to do some movement you have to do it, and win those duels, the movement there, and when the players do it you have more chance because when I say that I’m unfair with Jeremy it’s the truth because the action he has done it has done it many times against Brighton, how many chances against Spurs that he helped us.

“He was the key player with us breaking that, and since then because we play a little bit of a different shape, he didn’t play much but what can I say? He’s right when he said, ‘I want to play more’, yeah you’re right, you’re right you proved that what you want for you especially with the ball, he can do it so.

“That’s why that’s why Nico in that case deserve the minutes now is playing because he’s given us a lot, a lot of things.”