Speaking at a press conference before the match against Sunderland, the Man City coach also revealed that Rodri - who returned to the starting lineup in the 2-1 victory over Nottingham Forest last weekend after two months of absence, could play.
Meanwhile, Jeremy Doku has not played any matches for Man City, since the victory over Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League.
However, Guardiola has provided positive information about the recovery progress of the Belgian midfielder as well as Rodri's fitness condition.
Rodri has returned. Maybe he can play for a few minutes. We really need him. Doku can. And John Stones and Oscar Bobb can't," Guardiola said.
Stones have been sidelined since the victory over Fulham in the Premier League in early December 2025.
Meanwhile, Bobb had to leave the field in the match against Brentford in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals.
Rayan Air-Nouri and Omar Marmoush are also unable to play because they are on duty at the African Cup (AFCON) with the Algerian and Egyptian national teams, while Mateo Kovacic is continuing the recovery process from an ankle injury.
We have seven or eight players injured and two people participating in AFCON.
Five injured players are gradually recovering, so in terms of squad, we are not currently in the best condition, but in terms of points, we are having better results than last season," Guardiola added.
Sunderland is a newcomer to the Premier League, but they are showing extremely impressive form. Before the match taking place on New Year's Day, they are ranked seventh in the standings with 28 points after 18 matches.
Moreover, Regis Le Bris' team has also never lost a match at home at Stadium of Light.
With that impressive achievement, Guardiola predicts Man City will face the most difficult challenge when they aim to start 2026 with their ninth consecutive victory and narrow the gap with the leading team Arsenal to two points.
We faced them a few weeks ago when we won 3-0 at the Etihad and they had an incredible season. With 14 new players, gathering everything together was not easy, but Sunderland did very well.
They are very strong. The audience is always enthusiastic, I remember the first season there, it was unbelievable. They defeated Newcastle. Both Arsenal and Villa could not win at home so they are very strong, but at the same time we are also ready," Guardiola said.
The Sunderland vs Man City match will take place at 3:00 AM on January 2.
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