If Egypt were to reach the final, Marmoush – who scored in City’s 3-1 Carabao Cup win over Swansea on Wednesday – would miss eight matches for City, including Premier League games against Chelsea and Manchester United. Salah would likely miss at least seven matches for Liverpool. City are also expected to lose Algeria left back Rayan Aït-Nouri during Afcon.
Asked about the scheduling of the tournament, City manager Pep Guardiola said: “This competition [is] for their countries so they have to go.
“Always I try to solve the problem when the problem is in front of me. Right now I don’t think [about it].
“I have to use them for Sunday and next Wednesday and next Sunday before the international break. When it is going to happen they cannot be here and we will see the situation and take the decisions.”
City face second-placed Bournemouth at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday and Guardiola believes the Premier League is slowly becoming like the NBA in the United States, with no one team dominating the competition.
City won six of seven league titles under Guardiola between 2018 and 2024. But the Catalan – a keen basketball fan – believes the title could change hands more in the future. In the NBA there have been different champions for the past six seasons.
“I remember when I was in Munich or Barcelona, I always heard the rumours that in England, everyone could beat everyone, I always had that sense,” he said. “Maybe Liverpool and ourselves in the past changed that dynamic because we were so consistent in terms of points and arriving every season with 90, 90, 90 points, close to 100 points.
“But I think the Premier League has always been like this, all the teams can beat each other, it is good. At some point like the NBA, there is not a dominant team in the last four or five or six years, there is always one different team and everyone can beat everyone. I think for the spectators and for the show of the Premier League it is really, really good.”
