Pep hesitates over whether to start Haaland and De Bruyne against Crystal Palace

Pep Guardiola is unsure about whether to restore Erling Haaland and Kevin de Bruyne to his Manchester City line-up at Crystal Palace on Saturday with Real Madrid looming next week.

The pair were unused substitutes in midweek as City stayed three points behind Premier League leaders Liverpool by brushing aside Aston Villa 4-1, with Phil Foden bagging a sensational hat-trick.

But as a visit to Palace at lunchtime on Saturday is followed by a mouthwatering trip to the Spanish capital to face Real on Tuesday in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final, this season's leading goal-scorer Haaland and key playmaker De Bruyne might be kept on ice once again this weekend.

'I don't know yet,' Guardiola said, when asked about the prospect of Haaland and De Bruyne returning to face Palace. 'Playing at 12:30pm and playing two days ago, I have to think. There are so many games.

'We play less than two and a half days after our last game. Some players recover quicker than others. A long week is completely different but a short week, you have to talk with doctors, physios and staff.

'We are used to playing every three days over many months and months. For many, many years it has happened that way.

'We play 12:30pm, it's perfect. More time to recover for the next game in Madrid. We then play on Saturday against Chelsea in the FA Cup afterwards, it's not fair but we are going to do it.

'We take one game at a time and don't give up. We are not new to European competitions so the players know how to handle it, not all the time but most of the time.'

City, who could welcome back goalkeeper Ederson at Selhurst Park but are still without defenders Kyle Walker and Nathan Ake, have dropped just six points in an unbeaten 13-match league run.