Pep Guardiola makes Jack Grealish Man City prediction

Jack Grealish could make his first start in more than a month tonight, against the club which Manchester City signed him from and with a point to prove as he bids to turn his season around.

Having been pivotal in last season's treble success, Grealish has been on periphery this term and the £100million man was on the receiving end of an animated discussion with Pep Guardiola after his cameo in the goalless draw with Arsenal on Sunday. Guardiola sought to play that 20-second chat down on Tuesday, resorting to sarcasm to insist he only holds those occasional post-match debriefs in public to fuel his ego and get himself on camera.

But he clearly had a point to get across to Grealish, who has struggled to hit the heights this season. He has started just two games in 2024 and hasn't begun a Premier League fixture since December, with form and injuries holding him back.

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Guardiola has previously questioned his desire this season, with Jeremy Doku preferred on the left wing earlier in the campaign. Grealish was excellent in the closing stages of last season, offering control out wide, and Guardiola is confident the 28-year-old is ready for a big finish to this campaign.

"Yeah. I had the feeling that he is back, in training, in desire, in many things. Now I’m pleased," said Guardiola.

"I ask for the players be ready, be yourself, then after that it doesn’t matter if you perform at the highest level or less. Jack [has] his commitment, we need everyone with the important injuries we have and the tight schedule with many games, we need everyone.

"So the contribution from Jeremy or Jack or Rico was really