Guardiola in Fresh Crisis with Dropped Players

The manager said there was currently no issue around this but was clear that anyone left out must take it professionally.

“The guys who don’t play deserve to play – it’s always like this,” Guardiola said. “When they are training in a bad way, they are out of the selection. But this doesn’t happen when they train good, and that’s good for us.

“It will be tough. I will be unfair. When they are not selected they are not happy – after the game they are not happy. But they have to come back happy for the training session. They have to be happy; no other solution. If they are professional, they know what it is. If they have bad faces, bad moods or want to show how disappointed they are, they will have big problems because they are not going to play … They have to know: the next game is here and they have to convince me.”

City travel to Wembley to face Tottenham in Monday night’s game and before the weekend’s fixtures lead Liverpool on goal difference with two points separating the top five teams. Guardiola believes it is a five-horse title race. “I don’t have doubt about that,” he said.

Of Mauricio Pochettino’s side, who are fifth, he said: “For the last five or six years they are always there [near the top]. They cannot invest in players because of their incredible stadium they build – it’s a lot of money. It’s a top side. It’s my first defeat [in his opening season] and I know how strong they are. Last season we did well in both games [winning both] but they’ve got a good manager and good players.”