Is Rodri the Michael Jordan of Man City? Pep Guardiola draws Chicago Bulls comparison as he pins his team's struggles on injured Ballon d'Or winner's absence

Speaking to the media ahead of the weekend's Premier League fixtures, Guardiola opened up about the difficulties of operating without Rodri in the centre of the park, with the City boss struggling to find solutions to "playing without the Ballon d'Or winner and the best player in England last season."

Rodri's absence — stemming from an ACL injury expected to keep him out for the remainder of the season — has contributed to a huge downturn in form for Guardiola's team, who have looked unrecognisable at times with Rodri and other key players on the sidelines. It's rare for a Guardiola team to rely so heavily on one individual, but there's no denying that the 2024 Ballon d'Or winner's absence has been devastating.

Guardiola said: "This season we’re playing without the Ballon d’or winner and the best player in England last season. Of course it’s difficult. The Chicago Bulls won six NBA's with Michael Jordan, right? Since Jordan retired, how many have they won? The moment we [the players] come back, we’ll be strong again."

In the same press conference, he railed against fixture congestion, saying: "It's not the training, not the doctors, not the physios, not the players, not how they eat or how they rest. It's just one problem: the schedule. This is the truth. Without players, everything is more difficult. When we won the Treble or four in a row, we had one, two or three muscular injuries and were so stable."

You can understand why Guardiola is so concerned about injuries right now; the Catalonian coach recently revealed that he has just three fit defenders available for Sunday's fixture. And it's a big one: City host arch-rivals Manchester United at the Etihad in Ruben Amorim's first experience of the Manchester derby. The clash comes at a fascinating time for both clubs.