Pep Guardiola makes rare Manchester City fitness announcement ahead of Brentford clash

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has revealed that he will take a fully fit squad to face Brentford on Monday evening.

The treble-winners continue their Premier League title bid with a trip to the Gtech Community Stadium this weekend, with Manchester City’s clash against Brentford the first of seven matches for the Sky Blues in February.

Manchester City extended their current unbeaten run with a comfortable 3-1 win over Burnley on Wednesday evening, as Kevin De Bruyne made his first start since August and Erling Haaland returned from a significant absence.

Pep Guardiola’s side also recently progressed to the fifth round of the Emirates FA Cup after an important 1-0 win against Tottenham in north London, as Nathan Ake’s late goal secured a first victory at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

City remain five points behind league leaders Liverpool however, and just three points currently separate the Blues, Arsenal, Tottenham and Aston Villa in the Premier League table.

February could prove a defining month for the Blues’ treble defence, with matches scheduled across the Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup.

Manchester City suffered defeats both home and away to Brentford last season, losing 2-1 at the Etihad Stadium and 1-0 in west London.

Ahead of a challenging trip on Monday evening and a series of key matches, Guardiola revealed that he currently has a fully fit squad.

“Everybody is fit, everybody is ready!,” declared Guardiola during Friday’s pre-match press conference at the City Football Academy.

As well as recent returns for De Bruyne and Haaland, John Stones played the full 90 minutes against Burnley and Manuel Akanji is also ready to make a return.

Speaking about the recovery of Stones, Guardiola said: “[He’s] really good. It was not muscular, it was ankle. When it’s the ankle it’s okay, the risk is minor I would say.

“He needs to make a step forward to the John Stones we saw last season. Step by step, hopefully, he can continue and avoid it.”