'Erling Haaland is not a lawyer!' - Pep Guardiola's hilarious response as he discusses Man City squad's reaction to looming battle with Premier League over 115 charges

City's hearing over the 115 charges for allegedly breaking the Premier League's financial rules is set to take place on Monday, September 16, more than 18 months after the case was first made public. Guardiola is keen for proceedings to finally be resolved but he said he and the squad were not discussing it internally.

"I'm not a lawyer. There are many lawyers in this country but I wait. We're going to wait and see. Erling is not a lawyer so we didn't talk about it," Guardiola told a press conference. "What is going to happen is with the independent panel and we will accept the sentence. I don't talk about it."

Guardiola has been repeatedly asked about the league's case against City and at times has grown frustrated that the investigation has overshadowed the team's achievements on the pitch. He is keen for the case to be closed once and for all. The City coach added: "I'm happy it starts on Monday and there will be more rumours and we're going to see. I know what people are looking for because I have read it for many years but I've said everyone is innocent until guilt is proven."

Guardiola also expressed his disappointment that City will have just two days to rest between their Premier League fixture against Arsenal on September 22 and their Carabao Cup tie against Watford, which has been scheduled for September 24. "It’s going to happen in many cases, it’s going to happen many times for teams that play in all competitions," he said. "They gave an alternative, to play on Thursday away in London to have more days but then we had a Saturday game in Newcastle and we prioritise of course to have more rest for Newcastle. So we’re going to play on Tuesday because we could not play on Wednesday when it should be because United play in the Europa League and the police won’t accept it. When someone creates more a new competition, it’s going to be even worse."

City host Brentford on Saturday looking to extend their 100 percent start to the Premier League season. Nathan Ake is unavailable after picking up an injury while on international duty for the Netherlands but Rodri and Phil Foden are back in training and could make their first starts of the season.