Rodri set for Man City return as Pep Guardiola shrugs off title talk

The Spain midfielder was an unused substitute in the weekend win over Nottingham Forest after recovering from his latest injury setback. Rodri has missed most of last season with a serious knee injury, and Guardiola has been careful with his return.

"Rodri has come back," Guardiola said. "Maybe he can play a few minutes. I'm looking forward to it."

Winger Jeremy Doku was also close to returning after missing four matches with a calf injury. Guardiola confirmed that John Stones and Oscar Bobb remained unavailable, while City continued to manage a stretched squad.

"In terms of the squad we are not in our best right now for this tight schedule," Guardiola said. "We have played with the same players lately. We will arrive back very late and then two days later we have Chelsea, and after that Brighton. We don't have many players to rotate."

City were dealing with several absences, with Stones, Bobb and Mateo Kovacic still injured, while Rayan Ait-Nouri and Omar Marmoush were away at the Africa Cup of Nations.

An eight-game winning run in all competitions has lifted City to within five points of leaders Arsenal, with a game in hand. They face ten matches in 32 days across four competitions, underlining the intensity of their schedule.

Asked if the title race had narrowed to two teams, Guardiola dismissed the idea.

"Are you sure?" he said. "A few weeks ago it was one team, then it was three. Now it is one again. We will see."

Guardiola also refused to comment on January transfer speculation, including reports linking Antoine Semenyo to the club, and potential loan moves involving Bobb.

"When it's going to happen, it's going to happen," Guardiola said. "I don't have news right now."