Pep Guardiola
Manchester City cannot afford to drop many points if they are to win the Premier League title again this season, according to Pep Guardiola. Speaking today at his pre-match press conference,
Pep Guardiola said: “It’s a long run and a long time until the big prizes (but) you can smell it. We had an incredible January in terms of game, rest, game, rest. We had one week off, the players came back and played really well against Fulham in terms of our principles – don’t be lazy and don’t be a little bit soft. We have arrived at the important part the the season. We know how many points we have to win because I know Liverpool and Chelsea – especially Liverpool – are going to lose so few points, because they showed that in the last season. You have to be ready. Champions League is here, the next round of the FA Cup will be soon. There’s a lot of games and difficult ones. I saw Sporting Lisbon and we have to prepare because I was really impressed with what they do. In the Premier League, we saw against Southampton that winning is difficult.”
City could only manage a draw in their last league game away to the Saints and any slip up against Brentford would hand Liverpool the opportunity to close the gap when they play Leicester City at Anfield 24 hours later. The Reds also have a game in hand on their title rivals that could narrow the margin even further.
