Pep Guardiola says his players will have remained “incredibly disciplined” during the Christmas break to meet the standards Manchester City have set.
Last week, Guardiola said his players would be weighed on their return to training after Christmas to check they are fit enough to play at Nottingham Forest on Saturday (12:30 GMT).
“I earn four or five kilograms more for the amount of food and drinks that I have drunk, so it is really good,” Guardiola said on Friday.
“[The players] have been incredibly disciplined for 10 years.
“Last season, for the injuries that we had, was a little bit more difficult, but they always behaved unbelievably.
“All the players I had in the last decade, and that is not an exception today. We have a standard as a club – everybody knows exactly what they have to do.”
The Spaniard had said his players met the required standards when they were weighed before their 3-0 win against West Ham on 20 December.
On Thursday, striker Erling Haaland shared a picture on social media of him weighing 94.4kg on a scale with the caption “All good!”
Guardiola exiled some of his players from first-team training in 2016 until they met weight targets, and in 2024, he apologised to Kalvin Phillips 14 months after saying the midfielder was “overweight” on his return from the 2022 World Cup.
City could move top of the Premier League if they win at Forest, with leaders Arsenal hosting Brighton later on Saturday (15:00)
“I prefer to be 10 points ahead of everyone, but it is what it is. It is going really well, but we are there,” Guardiola said.
“We are still at the end of December, in the Champions League we are up there, in the Premier League we are up there, we are in the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup, the start of the FA Cup is soon.”
The City manager also said “everything can happen” during the January transfer window, with the club in advanced talks to sign Bournemouth forward Antoine Semenyo.
“When I started last season, I never could expect to go in the transfer window with four or five players because we have 25 players injured and out of the situation,” said Guardiola.
“It is open, and everything can happen.”
City are without defender John Stones and winger Jeremy Doku because of injury, while Guardiola said midfielder Rodri was “much, much better” as he recovers from a hamstring problem – and could be assessed before Saturday’s fixture.
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