Every word from Fabian Hurzeler ahead of Manchester City away

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The head coach is looking forward to facing Pep Guardiola's team.

2026-01-06T11:15+00:00

Fabian Hurzeler's team are tenth in the Premier League. 📸 by James Boardman.

Fabian Hurzeler spoke about Pascal Gross, James Milner and his appreciation for Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola ahead of our trip to the Etihad on Wednesday.

Are there any updates on Yankuba Minteh and Mats Wieffer?

Mats Wieffer won't be available, he still has an issue with his toe. We need to have a look at Minteh. It's still not perfect, but there's a small chance that he will be available tomorrow.

Is there anyone else that's out of the game?

No, at the moment everyone seems to be fine.

Ruben Amorin has left Manchester United. Are they likely to look a lot different at the weekend to what you might have been expecting?

Definitely, it will change some things regarding the preparation, but we are focused on City. It’s a big challenge, a big game ahead of us. It should be game by game and therefore we are fully focused on City.

You ended that winless run on Saturday with a fairly comfortable victory. And also some other positives, one of them being Kaoru Mitoma getting a lot minutes in his legs. Are you cautious about him starting twice in five days given the amount of time that he's been out for?

We managed him well in the game against Burnley. It was his first start after a long time. But he collected some minutes before, so we are quite confident that he will be able to start.

The performance against Burnley also allowed fans to enjoy the return of Pascal Gross. He got a hero's welcome and looked fairly sharp as well. Is it tempting to throw him in straight at the start?

Pascal Gross in training ahead of Wednesday's game against City. 📸 by Paul Hazlewood.

I said from the beginning, we brought Pascal to play and therefore he will definitely be an option. He will play a big part in our thoughts for the second part of season.

Only four outfield players in their forties have played in the Premier League. James Milner, who turned 40 at the weekend, could become the fifth at some point and it would be a special place for him to do it at City, given he's going back to one of his former clubs. He looks so fit at the moment doesn't he?

If you see him working, you get an understanding of how it’s possible. But still, it's incredible what he's capable of doing for his age. He's a role model for every young player and for every person in the world because he's working so hard, he's so professional, he's so disciplined. He is taking care of his body, of his teammates and is being a real leader. I'm really glad to work with and to learn from him.

Carlos Baleba is impressing at AFCON and got man of the match against South Africa. You must be looking forward to having him back for the second half of the season? He's looking a lot more like himself at the tournament.

I have watched all his games so far and I think there were some good performances and some performances where he can do better. The last performance he deserved to be man of the match because he was himself. Although he had some cramps during the game, I talked to him and asked him if he hadn't drukk enough! So we are pleased, especially with how he performed in the last game. He looked good, he looked sharp. He seems to be happy. That's also very important for us, that he's in a good place, that he keeps on improving. We all have our fingers crossed that he goes as far as possible in the tournament and then we are looking forward to having him back.

We've heard from Paul Barber that it's very unlikely that Evan Ferguson will come back from his loan in Rome. But did Babis Kostoulas’s performance on Saturday convince you that he would be enough to support Danny Welbeck in the forward position?

Babis Kostoulas had a goal ruled out for offside against Burnley. 📸 by Paul Hazlewood.

We have a big belief in Babis and he proved it in the game against Burnley that he can play as a striker. He can also play as a ten. He already played a lot of times for his former club as a striker and also in training he knows where the goal is. He's very dangerous in front of the goal. We always want to give young players the opportunity to improve, to develop. He's a great example for that. I always emphasise that I'm happy with the squad and we keep pushing to develop the players that are here at the moment.

Manchester City away is one of the toughest trips in the Premier League, but you're unbeaten in three matches that you have played against City. Is there something about the way that you may be set up that they don't like?

I don't know. I think in some phases we were a little bit lucky. I think you need a little bit of luck against City, but overall I always want to have the belief that we can win the game, no matter against who we are playing. That's how we want to play football. That's how we see football. That's also what we want to stand for as a club, that we are not afraid of playing the big teams, that we have a big belief in ourselves, that we have big personality.

That's also something we have to do better. In the first half against Arsenal we didn't have the belief and we didn't have the self confidence to go there and win this game. Therefore I want to see a change in the mindset from our players regarding how we start the game. But then it's really about us having the trust in our own quality that we can beat maybe one of the best teams in the league at the moment. We know we need to work hard for that. We know that we will need a little bit of game luck, but we will go there and try to face this challenge.

I guess the good news is that Erling Haaland isn’t scoring at the moment...

Maybe it's good news, maybe it's bad news. I think he's always a danger, he always creates his chances. Against Chelsea he was very dangerous and very difficult to defend against. You can't defend him in one against one situations. So we need to defend against him as a team. We know his quality. We also know that we have players who can stop him. It will be a challenge for my defenders and for us as a whole squad to defend well against him.

It will be James Milner's 650th appearance in the Premier League if he plays. What is it he does differently in training to continue this longevity of his career?

James Milner could make his 650th Premier League appearance on Wednesday night. 📸 by Paul Hazlewood.

I think it's not training session on their own. It's more how he prepares for the training session, how he regenerates afterwards, what he's doing regarding nutrition, what kind of things he's drinking, what kind of things he's eating, just how he behaves. I think that's the main part as to why he can carry on. He's a role model regarding his behaviour and his professionalism.

How impressed have you been with Ferdi Kadioglu and what he's achieving this season?

Very impressed because he came back after a long injury, and that's not easy. His performances have been strong. He seem to be very resilient so therefore we are very happy that he's like a new signing for us. We are happy that he keeps improving and performing like he is at the moment.

In terms of Pascal Gross when he's on the pitch, it's only been a few minutes so far but is it like you've got an additional coach to work with?

He's not only an experienced player, he’s also a player who really understands the game and therefore he's a big help for me. It's always important that you have good connectors on the pitch, players who understand the match plan, players who can communicate with other players who understand the football game. He's definitely this kind of player who can read a game, who can define the rhythm of a game. You can say that he's like a coach on the pitch.

For what Pep Guardiola has brought to English football, do you take any kind of influence from him?

Pep Guardiola's team are six points off top of the table Arsenal. 📸 by Paul Hazlewood.

He's the best coach we have in the Premier League. What you see with him is that he is always capable of adapting, of evolving the game, of having new ideas. I think he's a role model for every coach.

You brought in Pascal who is very versatile. How do you envisage utilising him?

For me, he's a centre midfielder. That's his best position. He can define the rhythm of the game. He can create with his assists, his crosses, his clever passes. He can create chances. He can also finish an attack. I think he's capable of scoring and making assists and therefore we want to bring him into these positions. Our responsibility is to find these spaces where he can fulfil his potential, where he can bring his biggest strengths and have an impact on our offensive game as well.

With him coming in, does that mean that there's the potential for other people to go out during this window?

At the moment, no.

You're quite happy with where you are at in terms of squad at the moment?

We are happy with the squad. We have, of course, analysed the transfer market. We always try to analyse the individual situation of the players. But overall at the moment, I'm quite happy.

Does it make sense to wait towards the end of the window where you’ve got a better picture? Maybe the younger players who might potentially go out on loan at some stage?

A lot of things can happen, so we have to be patient. We have to analyse the situation. We have to get an understanding. Do we need a player? Do we need to replace any injured players? How bad are the injuries? Which players are coming back? And then we have to make decisions.

Is it a bit concerning how hungry Pep Guardiola seems for the challenge ahead for Manchester City?

That's something we can't influence or control. So what we can control is our performance tomorrow, we have to bring intensity. We have to bring an energy on the pitch and we must go there and try to win this game. We know it's a big, big challenge, but I want to see a better performance than we showed against Arsenal. I want to see a performance of belief, of courage and personality on the pitch. Then let's see what is possible.