Guardiola says he "would love" to see Silva stay: He has been an incredible signing for us

Guardiola

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has spoken to the media ahead of this weekend's clash with Chelsea.

Chelsea welcome City to Stamford Bridge on Sunday afternoon as both teams enter the clash following very different results.

Guardiola’s side sealed their place in the semi-finals of the FA Cup after picking apart Liverpool thanks to a sublime hat trick from Erling Haaland.

Meanwhile, The Blues were beaten 3-0 at Everton in their last Premier League outing, meaning they have won just one of their previous six Premier League fixtures, losing three of their past four.

Speaking first on team news, he revealed updates on a number of players who could feature this weekend as City try to catch league leaders Arsenal who are 9 points clear at the top.

Ruben Dias: "He is getting better but he is not ready for Sunday."

On John Stones: "He will maybe do partial training today."

On Mateo Kovacic: "He is fine."

On Josko Gvardiol: "He is getting better too but still he is not close.

If City are going to catch The Gunners, they must be almost perfect in their final 7 league games in what is a tough task as they come up against the likes of Everton, Aston Villa and of course Arsenal themselves later this month. Asked on having a strong end to the season, Guardiola admits it will be a tough challenge.

"Hopefully we can get a lot of points. The situation we are in in the Premier League, we need to get all of them otherwise it will not give us a chance to try until the end.

"We need to get a lot of points. We have not been consistent enough in the season. We have dropped points that we should have taken which is why we are now in the position where we cannot do it differently."

On whether he feels more excited at this time of the year: "No. I have a lot of yellow cards, that means how excited I am. Not just for April but during the season I have had good energy and still have good energy."

Lastly, Guardiola touched upon Bernardo Silva who reports state is set to leave at the end of the campaign. While Guardiola could not confirm his departure, he opened up at length on how he would love to see the 31-year-old to stay.

"He is really good in all departments. He plays a lot of games. Nine years we have been together and no injuries. He can play in different positions, he is so smart and reads every moment that the action and game requires. When you play a lot of games, it gives us a lot of trust and confidence how he is going to perform.

"All managers would say how much they love him because he is incredibly competitive, has a fire inside him always. In the toughest moments and on the biggest stages, he is always there.

"I have said many times, in the big games it is not about playing good or bad, it is about being yourself and being not afraid. We have had this since day one when he arrived from Monaco.

"He has been an incredible signing for us, incredible. I love this club and I would love if he could stay and finish his career here but I do not know. He will decide what he will decide. It is his decision.

"He has been an incredible signing with the numbers, minutes, titles. I judge players when everything is difficult and he always steps up and says he is here to help."