Juventusvs.Man City

Foden has missed the Citizens' last two games, including last Saturday's 2-2 Premier League draw at Crystal Palace, due to bronchitis.

Kovacic, meanwhile, has been sidelined for the last five matches with an unspecified injury picked up on international duty with Croatia in mid-November.

Man City supporters have since been boosted by the news that both players have been named in Guardiola's 22-man travelling squad to Italy.

Foden and Kovacic were also pictured in team training on Tuesday morning after arriving in Turin, and Guardiola has since revealed whether the duo will be involved against Juventus.

Guardiola issues Foden, Kovacic, Akanji, Ake updates

Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday evening, Guardiola admitted that both Foden and Kovacic are unlikely to feature, saying: "I don't think so. Maybe a few minutes for [Kovacic], but I don't think so.

"But it's nice to have them here [with] the team [at] the training sessions and to travel with us."

Two players who have not travelled to Turin are Manuel Akanji and Nathan Ake, with the defensive pair needing more time to recover from injury.

Akanji was taken off at half time in Man City's 3-0 win over Nottingham Forest last week with an unspecified problem that he has been 'struggling a lot' with for the last few months, according to Guardiola.

Ake, meanwhile, sustained a hamstring injury in the closing stages of the win against Forest, and Guardiola expects the Dutchman to be out for "longer" than Akanji.

"I don't know [how long they will be out for] yet," said the Catalan coach. "Nathan will be longer than [Akanji], but I don't know."

Asked if Ake will be out for weeks, Guardiola replied: "Yeah. The same [challenge] like we had in the last month, nothing changes."

Both Ake and Akanji remain in the treatment room with John Stones, who is still recovering from a foot injury, and long-term absentees Rodri (ACL) and Oscar Bobb (leg fracture).

Guardiola is focused solely on Juventus test

Man City head into Wednesday contest sitting 17th in the 36-team Champions League table, level on points with Juventus in 19th and two points behind the automatic last-16 places with three games remaining.

Asked whether he has a specific points total in mind, aware that a top-eight finish will guarantee a place in the knockout rounds, Guardiola said: "Right now, I'm not thinking [about the league table].

"We are not in the position when you look at last seven or eight games - you can't talk about winning games plural.

"We didn't win against Feyenoord (3-3 draw), and the first game against Inter (0-0 draw) we tried to win the game but we drew.

"With these four points we dropped we now have two difficult games in Turin and [against Paris-Saint Germain] and then [Club] Brugge at home. We have to take points to qualify and we will see."

Man City's Champions League showdown with Juventus has been described as 'a game of the highest importance' for Guardiola's side by Citizens expert Steven McInerney from Esteemed Kompany.

While Man City have won just one of their last nine matches across all competitions, Juventus have won two and drawn seven of their last nine fixtures, most recently rescuing a point in a 2-2 home draw with Bologna in Serie A last weekend.

Written by

Oliver Thomas