Pep Guardiola
Pep Guardiola has issued a rallying cry to Manchester City fans, urging them to help the side in Wednesday’s Premier League title showdown with Arsenal. City sit five points behind Arsenal with two games in hand over the Premier League leaders, and welcome the Gunners to the Etihad in a fixture that will play a key part in deciding which side goes on to win the title.
Should City reduce the gap to two points, they will be considered strong favourites for a third title in succession given their games in hand, but Arsenal would take the league back in their own hands if they can extend the gap to eight points. So Guardiola is keen to ensure that City’s good form is not taken for granted, and called upon fans to back the team from well before kick-off on Wednesday.
Pep Guardiola said: “Of course the momentum is key, it doesn’t matter if you play every three or four days if you are winning, winning. It’s really important the final we have on Wednesday – it is a final – against a team who has been the best team in England so far, they are five points ahead of us. Hopefully all of Manchester that day will be blue and they can come to support us. We need incredible noise from the first minute to the last as I know which opponent we are going to play against. Even though they draw the last three games, the way they play is difficult to stop. You have to read exactly what you have to do but it’s a massively important game for us. If we win it’s a step to getting it completely in our hands. The Premier League is 11 months, working, working. We have this opportunity and we want to take it. Hopefully the whole of the Etihad will be full three hours before.”
Guardiola also hinted at more fitness issues in his squad for the game, after he rested the likes of Rodri, Ruben Dias, John Stones and Kevin De Bruyne for the duration of the FA Cup semi-final win over Sheffield United on Sunday.
Pep Guardiola said: “I said on Friday I’m not giving rest because the FA Cup is not important for you. It’s not about that. I saw them tired. Rodri spoke with my staff and said ‘I cannot play, I’m devastated’. When that happens, you don’t play. I had a feeling with John Stones and other ones. I spoke with Gundo and he said he felt fresh. That’s why the line up was as it was. Against Burnley [in the FA Cup quarter-final] for example, at home, the players were strong, Kevin, Erling [Haaland], Jack [Grealish], these type of games if you make a lot of changes you drop too much.”
