Soccer-Guardiola to sit out FA Cup match after positive COVID test

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola will miss Friday's FA Cup third-round match away to fourth-tier Swindon Town after testing positive for COVID-19, the Premier League club said on Thursday. City said that Guardiola returned a positive test on Tuesday along with assistant Juanma Lillo.

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola will miss Friday's FA Cup third-round match away to fourth-tier Swindon Town after testing positive for COVID-19, the Premier League club said on Thursday.

City said that Guardiola returned a positive test on Tuesday along with assistant Juanma Lillo. "Both are now isolating, along with a number of other positive cases within the City first team bubble," City said in a statement https://www.mancity.com/news/mens/pep-guardiola-junama-lillo-63777065, adding that seven first-team players and 14 backroom staff are isolating for COVID-19 related reasons.

Assistant coach Rodolfo Borrell, who will take charge of the team for Friday's game, said Guardiola does not have many symptoms. "We had an outbreak.... That's a big outbreak. We are getting it day by day, don't know where it will end," Borrell told a news conference later on Thursday.

"Pep is fine, he has the virus. Fortunately he doesn't have many symptoms. But we are permanently in touch, like we would be here but on zoom or via a call, through technology instead of live." City are top of the Premier League table on 53 points after 21 matches, 10 points above second-placed Chelsea, whom they host in a league match on Jan. 15 after facing Swindon.

Earlier on Thursday, Burnley said https://twitter.com/BurnleyOfficial/status/1479007080593899521 that manager Sean Dyche will miss their FA Cup third-round tie at home to second-tier Huddersfield Town on Saturday after testing positive for COVID-19. Guardiola and Dyche are the latest Premier League managers to test positive in recent weeks after Aston Villa's Steven Gerrard, Newcastle United's Eddie Howe, Crystal Palace's Patrick Vieira, Arsenal's Mikel Arteta and Liverpool's Juergen Klopp.

Britain on Wednesday reported 194,747 further cases of COVID-19 and 334 more deaths within 28 days of a positive test, according to official data.

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