Manchester City head coach Enzo Maresca says he is 'excited' ahead of Pep Guardiola's imminent return to the Etihad, calling it 'his house'. Guardiola, who stepped down as City manager in May following a decade of trophy-laden success, is set to attend Wednesday's UEFA Champions League game against Paris Saint-Germain.
It will mark the first occasion the Spaniard has set foot at the Etihad since his emotional exit. Former assistant Maresca has since taken the reins, steering City to victory in eight of his nine matches at the helm.
Guardiola's homecoming coincides with City's first home fixture since the club were found guilty of violating the Premier League's financial regulations, with the added threat of a Champions League ban hanging over them. Nevertheless, Maresca insists everyone is eagerly anticipating his return.
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"I spoke with Pep, as I said a few days ago, after the [Manchester] United game," Maresca told a press conference, via The Mirror. "I didn't speak with him after that. In case he is coming, it is a nice feeling, especially for him, it has been his house for 10 years. It is still his house for what he has done here, I think it is exciting for everyone."
The Italian went on to say: "I don't know if he is coming straight to the stadium or if he is coming to the training ground, I don't know - I don't have any idea. It is exciting for everyone, for the fans, but I don't know Pep's plans at the moment."
Maresca's pre-match press conference was dominated by questions surrounding City's 114 charges, which the club deny and have appealed against. City's players, coaching staff and fans drew criticism for their celebrations following Sunday's 3-0 victory at Liverpool, which kept them at the summit of the Premier League table.
"Criticised for what? We won 0-3 at Anfield, what do you want us to do?" Maresca fired back when quizzed about the reaction to those scenes.
"And even if it was 0-1 it would be exactly the same. We, me here today, the players here today, want to win tomorrow's game. We work every day to win games. We can be focused.
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"The rest is things from outside we need to deal with. We were so, so happy inside the pitch and you cannot imagine inside the changing room."
Ruben Dias sat alongside his manager and tackled the charges head-on, speaking candidly about how City's squad are navigating the situation. "Personally, and I really feel like I speak for the whole group, we trust the club," Dias affirmed.
"We're very calm and were very focused on enjoying football. We know the team we've got, we want to make the most out of it, we want to win, and that's the only thing in our mind.
"If there's more or less noise or whatever the reason the noise is, at the end of the day it's all the same, same as before, because people don't love us winning and we love to win."