The midfielder has made 35 appearances for the Blues this season and will be in the squad for our FA Cup sixth round clash with Liverpool on Saturday at 12:45 (UK).
But Nico has had fewer minutes in recent weeks with his last start coming in the fifth round victory away to Newcastle at the beginning of March.
The City boss says he his continuing to improve and learning the role from 2024 Ballon d’Or winner Rodri.
“Nico played alongside O’Reilly at Newcastle and they were both some of the best performances this season, but Rodri is Rodri,” Guardiola said.
“Sometimes you need minutes to become who you are but you see Rodri in the Carabao Cup final, Bernardo too, it’s just that.
“Like Khusanov, he accepts the situation and trains harder. Always he’s ready. He’s a joy to have in the squad.
“The contribution from Nico, he has seen for himself that it’s his best season so far and he has a lot of things to improve, mentally, how he’s able to get the ball, break lines and look forward.
“Rodri is the best midfield player in the world so he can learn and he is so young like Phil [Foden] and has the margin to improve.”
Watch the second part of Pep’s press conference in the video above…
