‘I don’t want any excuses’ – Pep Guardiola says Man City ready for Liverpool test

Pep Guardiola insists he will not make excuses as he prepares his battered and bruised Manchester City side for Saturday’s FA Cup semi-final against Liverpool.

Treble-chasing City face their chief title rivals in a Wembley showdown just three days after a draining and ill-tempered Champions League clash against Atletico Madrid in the Spanish capital.

The game is also the fourth of an intense 12-day spell in which they also played the first leg of their quarter-final tie against Atletico and participated in an exhilarating 2-2 draw with Liverpool in the Premier League.

Star playmaker Kevin De Bruyne and right-back Kyle Walker are major doubts having suffered foot and ankle injuries respectively in the fraught midweek encounter, while Phil Foden also required treatment for a head wound.

Yet while this may play into the hands of Liverpool, Guardiola is not complaining.

The City manager said: “Semi-finals of the FA Cup are always hard against this side, even with the top players fit and rested.

“I’ve learned as a manager when you arrive in the latter stages in all competitions you adapt to the schedule. If you want to complain (for a safety) net, you make a mistake. It is what it is.

I said to the players I don't want any excuses.

“We have fought every season like this and we go through, and we are going to perform well.

“I said to the players I don’t want any excuses.”

City have at least attempted to lessen the impact of travel by flying straight to London from Madrid, rather than return to Manchester between the games.

They trained on Friday at The Den, home of Millwall, and Guardiola has stressed the importance of rest.

Final preparations!