Pep Guardiola believes Newcastle are genuine Premier League title contenders, claiming their fixture schedule gives them an advantage over Manchester City and Arsenal. City are two points ahead of Newcastle, who sit third after the Christmas round of fixtures, and have surprised many onlookers with their rapid progress this season under Eddie Howe. Guardiola admitted that he was one of those who didn’t expect Newcastle to be in the top three at this stage of the season, but said their August draw with the Blues and subsequent run of results proves they shouldn’t be taken lightly. Asked if they could keep their form up,
Pep Guardiola said: “Nobody knows, I don’t know what’s going to happen but if they continue to play with this consistency… When we played them in our third game and we drew 3-3 after going 3-1 down I was in the locker room and everyone [outside] was saying, ‘Ah, City, the champions, dropped two points to Newcastle, how s*** they are’. But I said they are so good. Joelinton, Saint-Maximin, Guimaraes, Trippier, the structure, all the guys. I remember Eddie Howe was more cautious in Bournemouth but, pfff, they [Newcastle] were so intense, aggressive and I said, ‘Wow’. But honestly and maybe Newcastle couldn’t expect them to be in the position like they are now. But they have shown this consistency like the best teams do, and they create more and concede few [goals]. When you are able to go to Tottenham and play like the way they did. I saw the game. And in general how they play. After 30 minutes or so at Leicester, it’s 0-3. Newcastle can do it, of course they can do it if they continue to do [what they are].”
And Guardiola feels that Newcastle have an advantage by not competing in Europe in 2023, unlike both City and Arsenal, plus the likes of Tottenham, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United behind them. Sending a warning to his City players,
Pep Guardiola said: “It’s a big advantage, I think so, definitely, just focussing on one thing, it’s much better. They are in the Carabao Cup still but it’s better, yeah. It’s not about Arsenal and Newcastle, it’s about ourselves. We won the leagues because we were ourselves. If you are there it depends on how you perform, not because in the recent decade we were the best team in England. It’s not about that.”
