The City boss, who has only just returned from self-isolation himself, was asked if the reported outbreak of the last few weeks had improved and whether he would have more players available for Saturday’s game.
But he says while some are back in training, others are likely to be ruled out with the virus.
“No, some people are coming, some people are positive again,” said Guardiola.
“When you test twice negative you come back otherwise you stay at home isolating, which happens at all the [Premier League] clubs in the last three months.
“We have some new cases, yeah, but we want privacy, I can’t tell you [who is out].
“We are used to it, unfortunately, to handling this situation for a long time. It’s happened for one or two years.
“We adapt and hopefully the cases are handled and players come back in a good condition.
“I think the COVID is all around the world. It is not that in this part of the world there is no COVID. That is not true.
“We had a lot of cases and a lot of injuries. We played Aston Villa with 11 first-team players.
“The last four or five games we played with academy players on the bench. We are in the same situation as all other clubs.
“Injuries may be less because our medical department is incredible. But in terms of COVID, we are the same.
“It is not that we are smarter or wiser or do the protocols better. When the virus comes into the bubble, everyone suffers. There’s no exception.”
Super Saturday
It’s a football feast of City action on Saturday 15 January!
City fans can savour FOUR games in one day with our men’s, women’s Elite Development Squad and Under-18s teams all in action throughout a thrilling nine-and-a-half hours of the beautiful game.
And you can follow all of the action live on our official Man City digital platforms.
Liverpool U18s v City U18s in the PL U18. Kick off at 11:00 LIVE on CITY+
Aston Villa v City in the WSL. Kick off at 12:30
City v Chelsea in the Premier League. Kick off at 12:30
City EDS v Manchester United U23s in PL2. Kick off at 19:30 LIVE on CITY+
CITY+ | SUBSCRIBE TO ACCESS EXCLUSIVE CONTENT
CITY+ subscribers can watch live coverage of our U18s’ trip to Liverpool at 11:00 (UK), as well as the Manchester Derby between our EDS and United’s U23s at 19:30.
And look out for highlights of our WSL game at Aston Villa.
Pep Guardiola’s Premier League leaders host Chelsea and you won’t miss a beat.
Minute-by-minute text updates get under way in our Matchday Centre at 10:30 (UK), whilst our Matchday Live show starts one hour before kick-off.
Presenter Natalie Pike will be joined in the studio by Shaun Goater and David James, who will be providing the usual mix of analysis and entertainment before the game begins.
Our guests will also be answering fans’ questions throughout the show and you can get involved by sending a WhatsApp to +447537186538.
They’ll reconvene at half-time and to share their thoughts on the opening 45-minutes and again after the full-time whistle for an in-depth debrief, which will include reaction from Pep Guardiola and a player.
During the game, you can enjoy live audio commentary in the Matchday Centre, as Alistair Mann and Andy Morrison guide you through the 90-minutes.
And, once the final whistle sounds, the app is the best place to relive all the action.
Highlights of the game will be made available for free at 17:45 and CITY+ subscribers can watch a full 90-minute replay of the game at midnight.
The best way to follow Manchester City is by downloading the official app!
Download on your mobile phone or tablet via the Apple’s App Store or Google Play Store, or, if you already have the app, then simply visit the stores and update.
Don’t forget to turn push notifications on, that way you’ll get reminders of everything as the day unfolds.
