Pep Guardiola holds double Manchester City team news hope ahead of Luton and Real Madrid matches

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola reportedly holds a double hope when it comes to his squad ahead of matches against Luton Town and Real Madrid in the coming days.

The Premier League champions return to English top-flight action this weekend following their exploits in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday night, recording a 3-3 draw to bring back to Manchester next Wednesday.

While City escaped the dramatic contest injury free, Phil Foden picked up what is being described as a minor knock, however a more in-depth overview of the problem and any potential severity is likely be provided by Pep Guardiola on Friday afternoon.

Kevin De Bruyne was a late withdrawal from the contest however, after the Belgium succumbed to a bout of illness in the final moments before Manchester City’s warm-up at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Kyle Walker and Nathan Ake both remained absent from the club’s travelling squad, and Pep Guardiola reportedly holds various levels of hope regarding two of the aforementioned trio according to a new report.

That is according to the information of the Daily Star’s Jeremy Cross, who reports that Pep Guardiola is hoping Kevin De Bruyne is well enough to return to his Manchester City starting eleven against Luton Town at the Etihad Stadium this weekend.

However, on a less positive note, it is reported that Guardiola is expected to be without Kyle Walker once again, with the Manchester City captain continuing to recover from a hamstring problem sustained while on international duty with England.

Despite missing the midweek first-leg tie, it is claimed that Guardiola is ‘desperate’ to have Kyle Walker back in action for the return-leg against Real Madrid on Wednesday night, but will give him ‘as much time as possible’ to prove his fitness for the contest.

City host Luton Town at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday afternoon, while attentions will very quickly turn to their UEFA Champions League quarter-final second-leg against Real Madrid on Wednesday night.

The Etihad Stadium double-header will be the final matches before the club’s FA Cup semi-final meeting with Chelsea at Wembley, which is scheduled for the following weekend in the Saturday evening slot.

Manchester City remain in contention for a repeat of their Treble successes last season, but Pep Guardiola will almost certainly require his full compliment of players in order to mount a continued pursuit of three titles in the final weeks of the season.