Pep places faith in Gabriel with Aguero injured

Manchester City will be without injured leading scorer Sergio Aguero as they try to regain the advantage in the Premier League title race against struggling Cardiff today. A thigh injury means the Premier League’s leading marksman  with 19 goals to his name will sit it out with Brazil star Gabriel Jesus taking his place.Victory over a side they thrashed 5-0 in the away fixture earlier this season would see City leapfrog Liverpool to lead the title race by a point, with both having played the same number of games. City manager Pep Guardiola admitted Aguero faces a race to be fit for the FA Cup semi-final with Brighton on Saturday and the first leg of the Champions League quarter-final away to Tottenham next Tuesday. “Tomorrow (Wednesday) Sergio is not able to play,” said Guardiola. “He didn’t train the last two days. Hopefully he can on Saturday or next Tuesday. We will see his evolution in the next few days.”Guardiola, whose side is bidding for a historic quadruple in winning the Premier League, the FA Cup and the Champions League to add to their League Cup success already this term, has faith in Jesus being able to fill in for Aguero.“Gabriel is ready,” said Guardiola. “He is having a good season and it is not always easy to play in this club as a striker in the same position as Sergio. “He is fighting against one legend and an incredible top player in his best season since we have been at the club. When Gabriel played, he played well. Tomorrow he is going to help us and fight and score goals and create space for others.”City might still have been top but for a late error by France’s World Cup-winning captain Hugo Lloris gifting Liverpool all three points on Sunday in a 2-1 win over Tottenham Hotspur. “When you see that, you say ‘Ah s**t’,” he said.“But after five or ten minutes, you think it’s a nice but terrible challenge. Nobody said it would be easy. Nobody. We knew it and I knew it. Everybody is excited for what we are going to live in the next weeks. Let’s beat Cardiff for the main target to go back top of the league with six games left. After that we live again, Wembley, to achieve the one final (FA Cup) I never experienced in my life in the oldest trophy, and after that the Champions League.”Meanwhile, Guardiola said he understood how Cardiff City boss Neil Warnock felt after his criticism of the referees and their head Mike Riley following Chelsea’s controversial 2-1 win over the Welsh club on Sunday. Warnock, whose side are fighting to avoid relegation, had said the standard of officiating in the Premier League had gone backwards because former referee Riley was at the helm of the body responsible for match officials in English football.Cardiff had been heading for a win until Chelsea captain Cesar Azpilicueta headed in a late goal despite appearing to be offside. Chelsea then scored one more to take all three points. “Is there someone who cannot understand his reaction (to Sunday’s decisions)? It is tough for managers, clubs, and players who want to stay in the Premier League,” Guardiola said. “It’s a big issue. We have empathy with his position, we can understand completely.”Guardiola said his side would still be motivated to play against a team that has lost four of its last five games and nearly beat Chelsea. “Cardiff are alive, based on what I saw against Chelsea,” Guardiola added. “It’s not a team that is already done. We know how we are going to play and it is a final every game. It (motivation) will not be a problem.”