Pep Guardiola gives spiky response to Erling Haaland form question as Man City boss jokes he hasn't spoken to any of his players in 'last three years'

Haaland was left out of a starting XI for the first time in a Premier League game this season as City overcame Wolves 2-0 on Saturday in a bid to keep the Norwegian sharp for the final game in the league phase of the Champions League. Guardiola's side find themselves outside the top eight and need to beat the Turkish giants and hope other results go their way to qualify automatically for the knockout stage and avoid having to play a play-off tie.

Guardiola had claimed two weeks ago that Haaland was "exhausted" due to the relentless match schedule but on Tuesday he said the man who has scored 26 goals this season was not to blame for his latest slump. Haaland's last goal was a penalty against Brighton on January 7, while he last found the net in open play against West Ham on December 20.

Asked in the pre-match press conference whether Haaland was feeling fresh to face Galatasaray, Guardiola said: "I didn't have dinner with him last night so I don't know. We will see."

Then, pressed on why Haaland has struggled to score lately, the coach added: "It's the team. We have to play better. Create more chances and he will score. Never underestimate the goalscorers because they will always make you silent. I'm an overthinking manager, I'm not a man manager. The new generation of managers are just videos. I don't talk with the players for the last three years. Less problems."

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The match sees former City players Ilkay Gundogan and Leroy Sane come face-to-face with Guardiola. Gundogan left City last summer after a mixed second spell at the club following a glorious seven-year stint. Sane spent four years with the club, winning two Premier League titles among a slew of other trophies before heading to Bayern Munich in 2020.

"Huge contribution," Guardiola said when describing both players' impact. "I'm grateful for both of them, incredibly lovely people. I'm happy to see them back tomorrow. Gundo was here a little longer but Leroy was really important here, he gave us something we needed. Gundo was the captain for the Treble season, a massive character, a player similar to Bernardo - top player in the top games, big player in the big games."

Asked whether the two players' knowledge would be able to help their current coach Okan Buruk prepare for the match, he said: "They should do it. I would do it. We know each other quite well. We don't know exactly which players are going to play tomorrow and the way they are going to attack or defend, unless they have a spy in the locker room. Especially Gundo, we have been in a thousand million meetings together."

City will be without midfield lynchpin Rodri as he is suspended for being sent off in the 3-1 defeat at Bodo/Glimt. The 2024 Ballon d'Or winner's absence has left City sweating on the fitness of Nico Gonzalez. The Spanish midfielder has been absent since January 7 and Guardiola said he would wait until Tuesday's training session to determine whether or not he would be fit enough to play.

If Gonzalez does not recover then City could deploy Nico O'Reilly in the defensive midfield role after he impressed in the position against Newcastle in the Carabao Cup earlier this month.

"We will try to win tomorrow," Guardiola added. "Galatasaray, when you see the players, all of them are exceptional. We will have to make an incredible effort with our fans and give more than we could give with a lot of absences that we have and after we will see what happens."