Manchester City know that they must beat Crystal Palace at the Etihad Stadium tomorrow night to keep their hopes of winning this season’s Premier League title alive. There is no other option for Pep Guardiola’s side if they want to overhaul Arsenal in the title race. Heading into tomorrow night’s crucial Premier League fixture, Rodri and Abdukodir Khusanov were in doubt for the match due to injury. Speaking earlier today ahead of tomorrow night’s game, Pep Guardiola has provided a positive update on the fitness of Rodri and Abdukodir Khusanov, which does give hope that they both could feature tomorrow night.
Pep Guardiola has provided a positive update on Rodri and Abdukodir Khusanov’s fitness.
Speaking in his pre-game press conference earlier today ahead of Manchester City’s clash with Crystal Palace, Pep Guardiola was asked about Rodri’s condition. When asked about the midfield anchor for Manchester City, and how he was tracking in terms of his fitness, Guardiola said: “Better. We will see in training this afternoon.”
Abdukodir Khusanov sustained a knock in Manchester City’s 3-3 draw with Everton last Monday. The knock forced Khusanov to miss Manchester City’s 3-0 win over Brentford on Saturday. When asked about Khusanov’s condition, Guardiola said: “Better as well. [He took a) tough knock against Beto when he played Everton. He’s better.”
Manchester City will be hoping to have Khusanov and Rodri available for what lies ahead.
Pep Guardiola’s side face a busy run of fixtures to end the 2025-26 season. They play Crystal Palace tomorrow night, then face Chelsea in the FA Cup at Wembley on Saturday. Those matches are followed by a trip to the Vitality Stadium to face Bournemouth next Tuesday and Manchester City will end the season with a home fixture against Aston Villa next Sunday. The games come thick and fast for City from here. They will be hoping to have Rodri and Abdukodir Khusanov available for those matches. City will need their entire squad available to navigate a hectic run of fixtures.
It does seem like Rodri and Abdukodir Khusanov could feature against Crystal Palace tomorrow night. That would be massive for Manchester City. Both players are crucial to Pep Guardiola’s side and it does seem that they have a chance of playing tomorrow night in a match that City simply must win.
