The Premier League is back underway, and the current champions, Manchester City, will play away from home when they take on Newcastle United. The trip to St. James` Park will include the Premier League return of Kevin De Bruyne. The Belgian featured in the FA Cup 5-0 against Huddersfield.
The midfielder came on the pitch in the 57th minute to replace Julain Alvarez. The Belgian also registered an assist for Jeremy Doku, who scored the fifth goal for the boys in blue. Pep Guardiola has been impressed with De Bruyne`s recovery and looks to play him for the game against Newsctale United.
During the pre-Newcastle press conference, Guardiola was asked about the possible appearance of De Bruyne in the game. Guardiola states, "I saw him yesterday, and he feels good and dynamic. He played well, better than the sessions before Huddersfield. He's getting better."
The Spaniard adds, "Kevin De Bruyne is ready to start, and I can see he is very good, and the trip to Abu Dhabi will do him good, too."
Manchester City fans look forward to witnessing De Bryune play the full 90 minutes again, but it will be a difficult task when they visit Newcastle. Another player City fans were hoping to hear good news about is their star striker, Erling Haaland.
Pep Guardiola confirms that Haaland is ruled out for the Newcastle game and won't play
At the beginning of the press conference, Guardiola updated the press on team news and confirmed that John Stones, Jack Grealish, and Erling Haaland would not feature in the game at St. James` Park. Haaland`s last appearance for City was last month in City`s 1-0 loss to Aston Villa on the 6th of December, 2023.
Guardiola didn't mention a time frame on when City fans can expect to see him on a football pitch again. The Norwegian striker has been seen at training a few days back but is still not fit to play. The player's return should be soon as City has a busy game schedule in late January and February.
