Pep Guardiola issues Jeremy Doku and Savinho injury updates ahead of Wolves clash

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has issued an update on Savinho and Nico Gonzalez ahead of Saturday afternoon’s Premier League meeting with Wolves.

The Blues are yet to win in the league in 2026 and after back-to-back defeats to Manchester United and Bodo/Glimt in the last week, Guardiola’s side have won just twice in their last seven games in all competitions.

Arsenal are seven points clear at the top of the Premier League but as the Gunners prepare to welcome an in-form Manchester United side to north London on Sunday evening, City need to get their act together and pile some early pressure on Mikel Arteta’s men.

Marc Guehi is set to start on his Manchester City debut against Wolves on Saturday, with Ruben Dias still a few weeks off from recovering from a hamstring injury and Josko Gvardiol sidelined till April or May.

A young, inexperienced Manchester City backline was put to the sword by Bodo/Glimt in the Arctic Circle in midweek, with 20-year-old Max Alleyne starting for a fifth straight game since he was recalled from loan at Watford earlier this month and making an error that directly led to goal.

Guardiola needs as many fresh legs as he can get to steer the ship around for Manchester City, who remain in the running for silverware on four fronts but are missing a long list of key first-team stars as they navigate a tricky fixture schedule.

Savinho, John Stones, Matheus Nunes, Nico Gonzalez, Antoine Semenyo, Mateo Kovacic, John Stones, Dias and Gvardiol were all missing from City’s matchday squad in Norway on Tuesday, with Jeremy Doku also failing to come off the bench despite the Blues’ glaring need for inspiration in attack.

Speaking in a press conference ahead of Saturday’s meeting with Wolves, Guardiola confirmed that Doku was not fit enough to make a cameo against Bodo/Glimt. The Catalan said, “Do you think (Jeremy) Doku would have not played in Bodo if he would have been fit?,” in response to a question on why Doku did not feature on Tuesday night.

The Manchester City manager has confirmed that Gonzalez and Nunes remain out of contention this weekend, with further updates handed on Savinho.

“Savinho (is) still stuck,” the 54-year-old added on Friday. “Yesterday (on Thursday), he ran on the pitch so maybe two weeks or three weeks, or maybe less I don’t know.

“Nico (Gonzalez), I hope he can help us for the absence of Rodri for Galatasaray but he is a doubt. And (Mateo) Kova, I spoke with him after Fulham when we qualified for the UEFA Champions League.

“I said don’t go to the (FIFA Club) World Cup and stay and make surgery quick. Played two or three games and again his bone didn’t react well so he had surgery. We have three top (midfielders), we are lucky Nico Gonzalez helped us a lot in that position but yeah, it is what it is.”

City are desperate for three points against Wolves, with Guardiola not searching for excuses amid key absences across the pitch for a Blues side that should still be strong enough to perform much better than they have so far in 2026.

“Last season it was two months before in November. Now it’s January,” Guardiola added. “The reason why? The amount of games. We have incredible doctors, the best physios. Doctors work 24 hours. They work like animals. A stupid amount of games, but it doesn’t just happen at City, all the teams.”

Guardiola is expected to shuffle his starting XI against Wolves, with Semenyo expected to return to the starting XI after missing out against Bodo/Glimt and Guehi set to slot straight in on his Manchester City debut after joining for £20 million from Crystal Palace on Monday.