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Rob DawsonCorrespondent
Pep Guardiola, manager of Manchester City, said that anyone who leaks team news before matches is “unethical and unprofessional.”
Aston Villa have launched an investigation following the news that midfielder Jack Grealish suffered an injury during training before their clash with Leicester City.
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Villa have also asked that their players no longer play fantasy football after some members of the group removed Grealish from their teams before the defeat against Leicester. This is seen as an indication that the English international team is missing out.
Guardiola keeps his choices close to his chest, but the City boss has said he will see those caught with information fainting.
“I know the players are playing these games, but I do not know what fantasy football is,” Guardiola said. ‘I’ve never played it before, and I heard it in the headlines for the first time [on Monday]. I do not know what it is.
“Sometimes there’s a choice, and players are friends with players from other teams and they talk. Sometimes it happens. It’s unethical and unprofessional, but it can happen.”
Guardiola spoke as he prepared his team on Wednesday for the final of the Champions League round with Borussia Monchengladbach. He has won the competition twice before, while in charge of Barcelona, but has never been to City four times over the quarter-finals.
“All the times we went out, we were at a high level and so close,” Guardiola said. “We have to play well, and the desire is there.
“After that we see the second leg and then to the quarters if we are good enough. No more expectations than that.”
A striking 18-match winning streak has taken City to the top of the Premier League standings and increased the chances of a foursome if they can win the title, the FA Cup, Carabao Cup and Champions League this season.
It would be an unprecedented achievement in English football, but midfielder Ilkay Gundogan said the players did not have the chance to make history.
“There’s nothing I thought of until you just mentioned it and nothing I would think of,” he said. “If it’s going to happen, I’ll take it.”