Pep Guardiola explains why he only made one Man City substitution against Porto

straight to your inboxPep Guardiola suggests that John Stones is the perfect partner for new signing Ruben Dias.The Manchester City manager added Dias to his defensive ranks from Benfica in the summer for a club record fee, offset by Nicolas Otamendi moving the other way.

straight to your inboxAn injury-free run and positive mentality has allowed John Stones to turn around his Manchester City fortunes as he impressed again in the hard-fought win over Southampton.Stones, starting his fourth game in the last five, has been one of City's stand-out performers in the last two months, winning back his place in Pep Guardiola's side and not letting go. Once more, he was solid at Southampton against the prolific Danny Ings and dangerous Che Adams.

straight to your inboxPep Guardiola questioned the decision to only award four minutes of injury time in Manchester City's game with West Bromwich Albion.The City coach was seen in frenzied discussion with fourth official Anthony Taylor as the electronic board was about to go up to signal four minutes with the game poised at 1-1.

straight to your inboxPep Guardiola said Gabriel Jesus is needed for his defensive work at Manchester City even if he is not scoring goals. City's No.9 has been culpable as the Blues have struggled in front of goal all season, failing to score or even record a shot on target in six matches since the Liverpool game on November 8 and missing one of the best chances of the goalless Manchester derby.

straight to your inboxPep Guardiola thinks that the Premier League is moving into a different phase of the season now the Champions League group stages are out of the way. Manchester City's manager has regularly raised the physical and mental battle of the teams that have had to play European football in a condensed schedule - especially for the Blues and other teams that went deep in continental competitions in August while their domestic rivals were able to recuperate.

straight to your inboxPep Guardiola decided against bringing on more than one substitute during Manchester City's goalless draw at Old Trafford because he felt his players were "sharp". The City boss has been a strong advocate of the Premier League bringing in five substitutions this season but he's now only used five replacements in the last four games, two of which very injury-enforced.

straight to your inboxPep Guardiola said Manchester City are missing Sergio Aguero as the Argentine's fitness struggles continue. City's coach had already decided that Aguero would not start the Manchester derby despite him scoring on his return off the bench against Marseille in midweek because of the Argentine's longstanding issues; he has only started three games this season and has had a few premature returns trying to shake off a serious knee issue that kept him out for five months.

straight to your inboxPep Guardiola insists Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is strong enough to ride out the storm at Manchester United despite coming under increased pressure as a result of their Champions League exit in midweek.Manchester City boss Guardiola believes Solskjaer is the victim of the cycle of instant judgement in modern football, with his job the source of speculation ahead of Saturday's Old Trafford derby.

straight to your inboxRio Ferdinand believes Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola saw something that everyone else didn't when signing Ferran Torres over the summer.City completed the signing of Torres from Valencia in the summer transfer window for around £20m - and the Spanish youngster has hit the ground running at the Etihad Stadium.The 20-year-old has scored six goals in all competitions under Guardiola and has already played in numerous positions in the attacking trio.The Spain forward found

straight to your inboxPep Guardiola said that Sergio Aguero has no chance of starting the Manchester derby on Saturday. The Manchester City striker returned to action to make just his fifth appearance of the season in the 3-0 win over Marseille, playing the last 25 minutes and scoring not long after coming on.

straight to your inboxPep Guardiola sees the forward roles as the best place to use Phil Foden at Manchester City in the immediate future.

straight to your inboxPep Guardiola got the response that he wanted from Raheem Sterling after challenging all of his Manchester City players to improve their performances.The City boss has made it a mission of the last fortnight as nearly all of his squad have returned to full fitness to try to raise the competition for places, and the hat-trick from Riyad Mahrez against Burnley set the standard for the rest of the attack to follow.Sterling, left on the bench in recent games having been

straight to your inboxPep Guardiola is expecting to rotate his team again this week after not using any substitutes in the Premier League win over Fulham. The Manchester City manager has been one of the most ardent advocates for a return to the rule of five substitutes per game, introduced as a temporary measure to complete the 2019/20 season and then kept in every competition for the 2020/21 season apart from the Premier League.

straight to your inboxJohn Stones has been recalled to the Manchester City starting line up as a reward for his last two performances and in training.Stones was one of six players to come back in for City from the side that drew in Porto in the Champions League on Tuesday. He partners Ruben Dias again, with Aymeric Laporte left out of the starting XI for the fourth game in a row.

straight to your inboxPep Guardiola has full confidence in every Manchester City star but will not hesitate to drop anyone who doesn't perform.The Blues have endured a difficult start to their league campaign where they are yet to win consecutive games.

straight to your inboxGabriel Jesus has noticed a change in maturity in the Manchester City squad as they continue to search for improvement in the Champions League.City have suffered four consecutive exits at the quarter-final stage or earlier under Pep Guardiola and still have a point to prove in Europe. One player who has relished the challenge in Europe in recent games, however, is Jesus.

straight to your inboxHere are your Manchester City morning headlines for Monday, 30 November.Guardiola calls on defenders to stamp out errorsManchester City boss Pep Guardiola has challenged his defenders to avoid making mistakes if they want to keep their place in the starting line-up.

straight to your inboxPep Guardiola played down the idea of resting Manchester City players in their upcoming Champions League fixtures as he looks to send a message to the players about the standards he expects.The Blues have sailed through the group stages in Europe with two games to spare after four straight wins and last week the manager took advantage of more players returning from injury to leave Kevin De Bruyne and Kyle Walker at home for the Olympiacos trip.However, the players have