Pep Guardiola knows what Man City cannot afford from Barcelona friendly

Pep Guardiola was happy to talk about how Newcastle had impressed against his Manchester City side or the character his side had shown to salvage a point but was less keen whenever Nathan Ake was raised.

The Blues boss gave short, sharp answers to any questions about the state of Ake, who looked upset as he was forced off after just 20 minutes at St James' Park with a groin injury. Whether he would have been involved against Barcelona or not in midweek, that decision is no longer the manager's to make and the concern is for the longer term starting with Crystal Palace on Saturday.

With Aymeric Laporte still weeks away from a return, losing Ake as well leaves Guardiola with just Ruben Dias and John Stones as his senior centre-backs - two world-class defenders on their day but still only two bodies. Luke Mbete is an untried academy option and Kalvin Phillips or Rodri could drop back if needed, but these are far from ideal circumstances so early in the season and especially coming on the back of the monstering the defence suffered against Newcastle.

Also read: Man City fan reactions to Phil Foden touch on wider Guardiola question

Ake's injury also heightens worries from fans over the friendly with Barcelona on Wednesday night. When he answered questions about it last week, Guardiola refused to countenance the idea that City shouldn't play a charity match that they have been invited to for a good cause in honour of a man the manager worked with at Barcelona but spoke with the air of a man who knew he was open to criticism.

There are, when you think about it, more sporting reasons to play this match now than there would have been to squeeze a game against the same opponents into their pre-season tour. Nobody would have