Phil Foden was rested for the 4-2 victory over Crystal Palace despite a hat-trick in midweek against Aston Villa while Bernardo Silva, Manuel Anakanji and Jeremy Doku also moved to the bench.
After sitting out the Villa victory, Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland came back in spectacular fashion, scoring three between them as we secured a crucial three points.
Next up is the huge Champions League quarter-final first leg with Real Madrid on Tuesday at 20:00 (UK) and the boss will take advice on fitness when selecting his line-up.
“I needed fresh legs [against Palace]”, Guardiola said. “I have to see the doctor who will say ‘okay we can count on these players, we cannot count on these players’.
“After I will see Madrid and talk with my staff who have watched them more than me and then take [a decision on] the line-up.”
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Among the players to start recent games is Rodrigo who has been pivotal to our challenge for silverware on three fronts.
The Spaniard was substituted in both but Guardiola said it was not due to tiredness.
“First half - the players are tired when the team don’t play good,” he added. “In the second half, did he seem tired? Not at all.
“The first was so tired. In the second half he was more there and the result was better.
“Last game he played 70 minutes, today he played 75 minutes, we reduced those minutes.
“Rodri is so strong, that’s good.”
