Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola will be missing his press conference on Friday with coach Kolo Toure filling in
Pep Guardiola will miss Manchester City’s press conference before their Premier League game with Crystal Palace with a ‘personal issue’. The manager is expected to preview every match with reporters but has been allowed to sit out his planned commitments on Friday to take care of something else.
It is not expected to have any bearing on the team preparations for Sunday’s game, where City will be looking to keep within touching distance of Arsenal after closing the gap to two points last weekend. Guardiola will take the team as expected for the match at Selhurst Park with Pep Lijnders, Kolo Toure and James French assisting him.
In his absence on Friday, Toure will take over his media duties in what will be the first time he has spoken publicly since being promoted to the first team back in summer. The former City and Arsenal defender began his coaching career as assistant to Brendan Rodgers and had a brief, unsuccessful stint in charge of Wigan Athletic before returning to the Etihad as No.2 to Under-18s boss Oli Reiss in 2024.
With Carlos Vicens leaving at the end of last season to take charge of Braga in Portugal, Toure was elevated up to help out with one of his primary roles to bridge the gap between the academy and the first team for young players being asked to train with Guardiola. His move was made permanent after the Club World Cup and he has become an important part of the coaching set-up.
“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,” academy director Thomas Krucken told the Manchester Evening News in October.. “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 who is our head of Individual Player Development.”
