Why is Pep Guardiola not on touchline for Man City vs Liverpool?

The Premier League giants go head to head for the third time this season at the Etihad Stadium, each looking to seal a return to Wembley.

They now take on a Liverpool side who went into the international break on another low note after a 2-1 loss at Brighton, their 10th league defeat of the campaign so far that left the defending champions sitting fifth, five points adrift of the top four with seven games remaining amid more questions over the future of manager Arne Slot.

John Stones is a doubt for City after withdrawing from England duty with a calf injury, with defensive colleague Josko Gvardiol still unavailable.

City, last year’s beaten finalists, will not have Guardiola in the dugout on Saturday as they attempt to reach the FA Cup semi-finals for the eighth successive season against opponents who have not made the last four since winning the competition for the eighth time in 2022.

However, the Carabao Cup final is among the events “exempt from any automatic touchline ban for the accumulation of cautions by technical area occupants”, according to official Football Association (FA) guidelines, meaning he was in the dugout against Arsenal a fortnight ago.

Guardiola – who joked that he would “go on holiday” during his latest suspension – will be back in his usual position for the top-flight trip to Chelsea next weekend, which is followed by a must-win crunch home showdown with Arsenal.

In his absence against Liverpool, assistant Pep Lijnders – who spent six years as Jurgen Klopp’s assistant at Anfield – will lead City’s coaching team on Saturday.