Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola: Kevin De Bruyne must fight for jersey

The Belgian star, who has been away from the field for a while due to Covid-19, is preparing to return to the top 11 with the Leipzig match.

Pep Guardiola, whose options have narrowed recently due to the shortcomings, wants Kevin De Bruyne to get in shape as soon as possible.

De Bruyne, who entered the season slowly after the injury he suffered in the European Championship, caught covid-19 this time when he started to find his rhythm.

Missing four games during his illness, De Bruyne stayed in the game for 23 minutes, coming from the sidelines in the weekend Manchester City beat Watford 3-1.

Guaranteed to finish the group leader in the Champions League, City will play a formality match against Leipzig. Guardiola announced that he will give De Bruyne a chance in the starting 11 in this fight.

"He's back and has to fight for the jersey like everyone else. Kevin has nothing to prove to me. It's enough to show that he's back in shape and fulfill his mission. He's been playing at the same level every three days for five or six years."

The 30-year-old star will compete with Bernardo Silva, Phil Foden, Jack Grealish, Cole Palmer, Raheem Sterling, Ilkay Gündogan, Gabriel Jesus and Ferran Torres for the jersey. However, Jesus and Torres are currently out of the equation due to their injuries.

"The team needs competition, he knows that. Bernardo knows that, Ilkay knows that, everyone in the team knows that. It doesn't matter if it's five minutes, 10 minutes or 90 minutes, they have to play well."