Pep Guardiola: ‘One defeat will end our Premier League title hopes‘
Pep Guardiola believes that one defeat for his Manchester City side will end their hopes of retaining the Premier League title.
The Citizens, who have won four top-flight titles in the last five seasons, currently sit second in the table and six points behind league leaders Arsenal, who have played a game more and have a trip to the Etihad Stadium to prepare for later this month.
Man City capitalised on Mikel Arteta’s side dropping points in a 2-2 draw at Liverpool last weekend when they secured a 4-1 victory over Southampton at St Mary’s.
The reigning top-flight champions have hit a strong run of form at a crucial period in the season, winning each of their last nine games in all competitions, and they are regarded by many as the favourites to finish the campaign ahead of Arsenal at the summit.
However, Guardiola has insisted that his Citizens side can ill-afford to drop any points if they are to successfully chase down the Gunners in the race for the title.
Speaking at a press conference ahead of City’s home encounter with Leicester City on Saturday, Guardiola said: “If we lose games, we lose competitions. It is the same tomorrow. If we lose we will not be champion.
“If we win, we could still be there because we cannot forget we are six points behind Arsenal – a team that has dropped few points throughout the season and play one game a week with a lot of time to recover, analyse. It will be difficult to win and drop points, that is why we have to be there as much as possible.
“We haven’t done anything different. [We] are the second most consistent team of the league so it is not bad at all. Our problem is Arsenal was amazing so far.
“They do really well but our performance in general is not bad at all. I would say it is not a disaster. We are still there but there is another one better than you, you have to accept it and admit it and keep going.”
While Arsenal’s attention is solely focused on the Premier League, City are having to balance their top-flight duties with knockout ties in both the Champions League and FA Cup.
However, Guardiola has offered hope to City supporters that they could knock the Gunners off their perch after suggesting that his side’s busy fixture schedule is helping to maintain their rhythm and keep his players focused.
“Sometimes our experience of games every four days, you are in incredible rhythm and focus. It helps us,” the Spaniard added. “In the past when we were playing in a lot of competitions it helped us.
“Sometimes playing one a week in our team we would lose the rhythm, when you have Saturday and next Tuesday or Wednesday and recovery, the mind of the players is always here.
“Sometimes when you have two days off, you have to come back and sometimes you lose this type of feeling. But at the end of the season I said before, in six or seven weeks it’s all over, the players are doing absolutely everything to keep going.”
Man City have no fresh injury concerns heading into Saturday’s clash against Leicester at the Etihad Stadium, with Phil Foden still absent as he continues to recover from appendicitis surgery.
Guardiola has offered a positive update on the attacker’s condition, adding: “I think he feels better. I spoke with the doctors three days ago and he feels better but still he’s not ready.
“I don’t know [when he will be ready]. When he starts training you will know it from our social media and after that he will be closing to coming back but still he cannot train with us.”
Man City, who have won 10 of their last 12 Premier League meetings with Leicester, can move to within three points of Arsenal at the top of the table with a victory on Saturday, before the Gunners face West Ham United on Sunday.
