Pep Guardiola would love to have a full squad to pick from but will not use injuries as an excuse for not performing this season.

City were without Kyle Walker, Kevin De Bruyne, Jack Grealish and Jeremy Doku for our 5-0 victory over Sparta Prague in the Champions League in midweek as well as long-term absentees Rodrigo and Oscar Bobb.

The boss doesn't expect to have any of the players back for Saturday's clash with Southampton on Saturday at 15:00 (UK), although he revealed that he hopes Grealish will return before the international break next month.

It leaves him with a difficult squad selection for each match with two games a week as we compete in the Premier League, Champions League and Carabao Cup.

But Guardiola said coping with injuries is nothing new and the City players know how tough it is to challenge for trophies with games coming thick and fast.

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"For one game or two games it's fine," he said. "Now we have a tough period after each game we have four days or three days to Bournemouth [after Tottenham], how difficult and demanding that is.

"We go to Lisbon after three days and then come back and go to Brighton.

"With just 14/15 players of course I am [concerned].

"I said last season it would not be easy to win four in a row. This is the challenge. Every season there is difficulty, we had injuries in the past like we had last season unfortunately with Rodri.

"It is what it is. The perfect scenario never exists in sport."

Watch the second part of Pep's press conference in the video above...