‘Absolutely’ - Pep Guardiola makes Sadio Mane claim ahead of Bayern Munich vs Man City

Pep Guardiola has claimed Sadio Mane’s suspension at Bayern Munich makes the team more dangerous ahead of Wednesday’s Champions League meeting with Manchester City.

The Blues lead 3-0 ahead of the trip to the Allianz Arena for the second leg of the quarter-final, with Mane available for Bayern despite being suspended for the weekend draw against Hoffenheim. The former Liverpool man was handed a one-match ban and missed Saturday’s game after punching team-mate Leroy Sane following the first leg at the Etihad last week.

Thomas Tuchel revealed over the weekend that Mane will be involved for the upcoming Champions League clash. “Sadio Mane will be in the squad on Wednesday,” said the Bayern boss. “He has already shown his reaction. It’s over, he’s apologised. It’s not an issue anymore. He trained with us in the week and he’ll be in training on Sunday.”

Yet Guardiola feels the spat will not impact the morale of Bayern team, instead he claimed it could help to unify the squad. Asked if the incident makes them more dangerous ahead of the second leg, the City manager responded: “Absolutely. Sometimes you need conflict to make the team more together. I’m pretty sure of that.

“It’s not a weak point. It’s a strong point against us. I know this club perfectly and I can imagine the situation against City. When we play there, the players will do their best performance for Bayern Munich.”

Guardiola warned his players after the first leg last week that the tie isn’t over and reiterated that stance again, saying his side must not be ‘passive’.

“I want a team that goes there to win the game. We cannot go there and just [not give everything]. I know the atmosphere in Munich and if we are passive we will suffer,” said the Catalan. “We have a final in four days against Bayern Munich and I know the character and personality they have with their players and the mentality.

“We have to work a lot and be stable mentally in our bad moments. We need a lot of energy for Wednesday but that energy comes from here [points to the head], not from the legs – how your mentality will be in Munich playing against a top, top team. We have to see if we can play as we have done at home and show great courage to impose our game.”