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Rob DawsonCorrespondent
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola said anyone leaking team news before matches is “unethical and unprofessional”.
Aston Villa has launched an investigation after news came out that midfielder Jack Grealish had been injured in practice prior to their clash with Leicester City.
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Villa has also requested that their players stop playing fantasy football after some members of the squad removed Grealish from their teams before the defeat to Leicester – seen as an indicator the England international would miss.
Guardiola keeps his selections close to his chest, but the City boss said he would have a vague picture of anyone caught leaking information.
“I know the players play these games, but I don’t know what fantasy football is,” said Guardiola. “I’ve never played it and I first heard it in the headlines [on Monday]I don’t know what it is.
“Sometimes there is a squad 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 for the Champions League round of 16 against Borussia Monchengladbach on Wednesday. He has won the match twice before while in charge of Barcelona, but has never made it past the quarter-finals at City for four years.
“Every time we went out we were at a high level and so close,” said Guardiola. “We have to play well, and the desire is there.
“Then we’ll see the second stage and then on to the quarter-finals if we’re good enough. No more expectations than that.”
A remarkable 18-game run has propelled City to the top of the Premier League rankings, increasing the odds fourfold 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 opportunity to make history does not lie with the players.
“It’s nothing I’ve thought about until you just mentioned it and nothing I’ll think about,” he said. “When it’s going to happen, I’ll take it.”