Man City confirm Pep Guardiola absence for 'personal reasons' with assistant coach Kolo Toure to fulfil media duties

Manchester City have announced that head coach Pep Guardiola will skip pre-match press duties ahead of a Premier League clash with Crystal Palace due to a "personal matter". Guardiola was due to face the assembled media on Friday, but his place in that hot seat will be filled by assistant manager Kolo Toure – with the Blues’ talismanic boss set to be back in the dugout at Selhurst Park.

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  Title challenge: Man City chasing down Arsenal

  City are confident that the issue will not impact plans for a trip to South London. Guardiola is expected to take his place on the bench as usual after naming a team that he hopes can pick up three more points in an ongoing title bid.

  A morale-boosting 2-1 victory over Real Madrid in midweek Champions League competition has helped to raise spirits in the City camp. They are now just two points adrift of table-topping Arsenal – who play host to rock bottom Wolves on Saturday evening.

  Any slip up from the Gunners would leave the door open for City to climb to the summit, as they prepare to tackle high-flying Palace on Sunday. Guardiola heads into that game aware that his record against Eagles boss Oliver Glasner is not the best – with an FA Cup final defeat suffered against the Austrian tactician last season.

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  Why Toure is facing the press instead of Lijnders

  Guardiola will, however, have City ready for another tough test in the English capital. That is despite being forced to miss a press conference due to issues in his private life. He has left matters in the capable hands of Toure.

  Pep Lijnders, who once worked alongside Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool, boasts more experience in the coaching department – and is accustomed to facing the media – but was also unavailable on Friday due to a scheduled day off.

• Toure promotion: Guardiola freshened up backroom staff

  Toure is speaking as the public face of City for the first time since being promoted to a first-team role over the summer. The 44-year-old represented the Blues and Arsenal – winning Premier League titles with both – in his playing days.

  He began his coaching career as an assistant to ex-Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers at Celtic, before following him to Leicester. An unsuccessful spell was taken in as manager of Wigan Athletic during the 2022-23 campaign, with that stint lasting just nine games as no wins were picked up.

  Former Ivory Coast international Toure – who played alongside his brother Yaya at City – returned to the Etihad Stadium as an assistant to U18s manager Oli Reiss in 2024. He was then allowed to bridge the gap between youth and first-team ranks in July 2025.

  City’s academy director Thomas Krucken told the of that decision, as Guardiola freshened up his backroom staff: "Before the season starts, we sat together with Txiki [Begiristain], Hugo [Viana], the head of coaching, Kolo – he is a very important part now because he knows the players really well – and there are a core of four players training. The EDS train every day next to the first team so it's easy for us and the players Pep needs, he gets.

  "The door to the first team is always open. I think we have a fantastic interface. Kolo is an important part but also Pep Lijnders has huge experience over a period of his seasons at Liverpool and before. He is an expert in working with young players. We have a regular meeting with Hugo, Pep Lijnders and Kolo, the head of coaching Jose [Luis Rueda] who is our head of Individual Player Development."

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  Guardiola at Man City: Win ratio and trophy wins

  Former Barcelona and Bayern Munich boss Guardiola has been in charge of City since 2016. He has taken in 556 games at the game and boasts a win ratio of 70.5 per cent. The Catalan passed 1,000 matches as a manager this season.

  He has overseen six Premier League title triumphs, with one of those – in 2022-23 – forming part of a historic Treble. In total, he has won 18 trophies with City and is tied to a contract through to the summer of 2027.