Premier League: Guardiola hopes to see Haaland against Tottenham

Pep Guardiola and his players are in doubt. Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola said on Tuesday that restarting the Citizens' season, eliminated from the Champions League and fighting to qualify again in the championship, was "not the biggest challenge" of his career.

"We've done it before, so after nine years it's not the same as at the beginning. We've done it two or three times already, so it's not the biggest challenge," said Guardiola, who arrived at Manchester City in 2016.

"The real challenge was when I started my coaching career. With my staff and many members of staff, we worked together to prove our worth and demonstrate that we could succeed," added the former FC Barcelona and Bayern Munich coach.

City, who currently sit fourth in the Premier League, qualifying for the Champions League, travel to London on Wednesday to face Tottenham. The "Skyblues" , who have won six of the last seven English league titles, are 20 points behind leaders Liverpool after their 2-0 defeat to Arne Slot's team on Sunday .

The Mancunian club was also eliminated from the Champions League by Real Madrid in the recent play-offs. The Citizens recruited four players during the winter transfer window - Omar Marmoush , Abdukodir Khusanov, Nico Gonzalez and Vitor Reis -, recomposing a squad undermined by injuries and the poor form of some key players.

Star Norwegian centre-forward Erling Haaland remains a doubt for Wednesday's game in London after missing the last two games with a knee injury. "Tonight (Tuesday night) we will know after training," Guardiola said. "I hope he can play, but I don't know yet."