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Pep Guardiola warned Benjamin Mendy that there was no guarantee of a place in the Manchester City team for Saturday's FA Cup semifinal against Brighton.
Quad chasing out, City will have to make a change to the left back for Saturday's game at Wembley after Oleksandr Zinchenko slammed in the 2-0 Premier League win against Cardiff on Wednesday, threatened by relegation.
The result brought City to the top of the table, one point above the title rival Liverpool, with six games to play.
Zinchenko, who has emerged as a first-choice left-back in the absence of Mendy and Fabian Delph this season, only lasted 19 minutes before succumbing to a hamstring injury.
Danilo has gone from the right back to the cover, but Guardiola admits that the Brazilian is not natural in this position.
This suggests the possibility of a recall for Mendy, a 49.1 million-pound man, who is now completely cured of the knee injury that had prevented him from returning in the past five months, but who seems in disgrace.
The 24-year-old was disciplined earlier in the season when he went late to treatment after attending a high-profile boxing event the day before.
New questions about Mendy's status were raised this week after the Frenchman was spotted at a disco in the early hours of Saturday morning.
Guardiola said: "Zinchenko has given us a lot and he is an important player for us. He knows the mechanics, he knows how we want to play.
"But during the season, that kind of thing happens if you play a lot of minutes. You accept it and we will find a solution. I do not know yet which one, because Danilo has fought a lot to play in this position. I like that a lot.
"It's not his natural position but he fought a lot. We will see the decision we make for the FA Cup semifinal. "
PEP ? (About Zinchenko) It is important for us.
He knows how we want to play but that's what it is.
Danilo is much beaten in this position but it is not his natural. We will find a solution.
– Manchester City (@ManCity) April 3, 2019
Asked about Mendy's prospects, Guardiola said, "We'll see how he feels, how he trains. We do not have many options.
City did not have top scorer Sergio Aguero against Cardiff and, thinking of Wembley, had made seven changes in total.
Still, they were still too strong for the Bluebirds, who are now five points behind safety and have no match in hand against their relegation rivals.
Goals from Kevin De Bruyne and Leroy Sane at the beginning and end of the first half proved sufficient, although City had 27 attempts.
Some of them came from the impressive young Phil Foden, including a shot against the post, after the first expected start of this young 18-year-old Premier League player.
"Phil, we know he is young but he can do anything," Guardiola said.
"For the next decade, it will be important."
Another @ first league victory for us! ??? See you in Wembley on Saturday #EPL #CmonCity pic.twitter.com/EsGHpTnyn4
– Ilkay Gündogan (@IlkayGuendogan) April 3, 2019
Cardiff's chances of survival increase.
"I think we need to win three out of six and get a draw somewhere," said manager Neil Warnock.
"But I think we can get results for the last six games."
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