London, Jan 15 (IANS): Manchester City and Chelsea have confirmed more positive Covid-19 cases in their squad ahead of their Premier League clash on Saturday. However, Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola did not reveal the names of the players, while Chelsea coach Thomas Tuchel confirmed that Andreas Christensen tested positive for Covid-19.
Manchester City will host Chelsea on Saturday in the Premier League, and possibly because Guardiola does not want to show his hand early, he has chosen not to name who has tested positive.
"Some people are coming [back], some people are positive again," said Guardiola on Friday.
However, Chelsea coach Tuchel confirmed on Friday that Christensen has tested positive and is ruled out from the game. Reece James will too miss the City trip having failed to recover from the injury that has troubled him recently. Trevoh Chalobah is another defender who has been ruled out by Tuchel, while their backline will be further rocked by news of a Covid-19 absence for Christensen.
Giving a team news update ahead of the City trip, Tuchel said, "No news which is good news. Trevoh will be out, Reece James out, Ben Chilwell out. We have one new positive Covid test with Andreas Christensen so he will be out of the game."
Tuchel's side has seen a number of players suffer from Covid-19 and injuries in recent weeks as they have slumped in the form to fall ten points behind leaders City.
Chelsea have also played two Carabao Cup semi-final legs in the last fortnight against Tottenham while City have had two free mid-weeks, with Tuchel's squad stretched further with the departure of Eduoard Mendy for the African Cup of Nations.