After heading into the 2023/24 campaign with 20 senior outfield players, City have had to go without several key names in the early weeks of the season.
John Stones is yet to feature while Kevin De Bruyne managed just 23 minutes in our Premier League season opener.
Injury has also affected the availability of Jack Grealish, Mateo Kovacic and Bernardo Silva in recent matches.
It hasn’t impacted our Premier League form, with Guardiola’s side the only team in the top-flight with a 100% record after six matches.
With that, and all the many successes of recent seasons fresh in his mind, Guardiola reiterated his belief in keeping his squad as trim as possible, with versatile players capable of filling in a number of positions.
“When you have 20 players and six injuries they say you should have bigger squad but what happens when I don’t have injuries? How can I manage that?” he said.
“I can play just 11. If 14 don’t play for a long time I don’t want to be manager. Every new player is a transfer or salary.
“That’s why you when you recruit you have to look for players can play in two or three positions.
“Bernardo can do that, Phil [Foden], Julian [Alvarez], Oscar Bobb. When people say they want two players for every position, I don’t agree with that.
“To be effective, you have to be starting regularly. If I want less games, I will manage teams not in European competitions. It will be long weeks. When you are in a top team in European competitions, we have to accept it.
“In 12/13 years as a manager, I have lived that all the time.”
While City are top of the Premier League and chasing a fourth successive title, there is an unlikely leader in Spain’s top tier.
Girona, our City Football Group sister club, have amassed 19 points from seven matches and lead giants Real Madrid and Barcelona by one and two points respectively.
Guardiola, whose brother Pere is Chairman of the Board of Directors at Girona, is delighted to see the Catalan club performing so well.
“It’s not about the fact they are top right now because seven games is not much but always we thought about Girona staying in the league for four or five years,” he said.
“They can be a stable team in La Liga. They have never been that before.
“The most impressive thing is how they are playing.
“They are better every game than the opponents, they create more than their opponent, the style is so attractive, the recruitment has been unbelievable, the manager is a top class manager. Personally I have my brother there.
“As part of the group, we are more than delighted and hopefully they can stay longer.”
Wolves v City app coverage
Our official app allows you to follow all of the action from the Wolves in one place.
Minute-by-minute text updates will begin in our Matchday Centre two hours before kick-off, whilst our Matchday Live show will begin at 14:00 (UK).
We will have special guests on the latest Matchday Live show, offering their expert insight at half-time and in greater detail after the final whistle.
They will also answer viewer questions throughout the broadcast, with audience participation actively encouraged on Matchday Live. To get in touch, send a WhatsApp to: +447537186538.
During the game you can listen to live audio commentary from Alistair Mann while our text commentary continues.
Make sure to have push notifications turned on as well, so you can be alerted to key moments in the action, including goals, red cards and the team news.
Highlights from the match, as well as a full-match replay [available on CITY+] will also be available.
