MANCHESTER (AFP) - Pep Guardiola is convinced Premier League leaders Liverpool will drop points between now and the end of the season as the Manchester City boss prepares for Thursday's (Jan 3) huge title clash with the Reds.
Guardiola's City side have been unable to keep pace with unbeaten Liverpool despite their own blistering start and sit in third place, seven points behind Jurgen Klopp's outfit ahead of their crunch meeting at the Etihad Stadium.
Liverpool have dropped just six points so far this season and come into the match on a nine-match winning streak in the league, but Guardiola is confident they will make mistakes amid a heavy domestic and European schedule.
"We are there, still with a lot of games to go and I think everyone will lose points this season, even Liverpool, because there are a lot of competitions," he told reporters on Wednesday.
"They have been incredible ... scoring four or five goals in every game. They are solid behind and in front." Guardiola feels his own team deserve credit for amassing 47 points in 20 league matches and is certain they will get opportunities to apply pressure on Liverpool after Thursday's match.
"We have dropped off sometimes but that is normal. During the season, sometimes you forget what you have to do," added Guardiola.
"You have to remember those things, and come back, and we have done it exceptionally well."
Liverpool have not won the English league since 1990, two years before the creation of the Premier League, and Guardiola believes that will be significant motivation for Jurgen Klopp's side, similar to what drove his own side to win last season's title with a record 100 points.
"My feeling is last season it was a little bit easier to maintain that hunger because 80 per cent of the players had not won anything in their lives.
"So I can feel what they feel, the Liverpool players. After 29 years not winning the title, to be there to win the Premier League, I understand it."
Guardiola also claimed that Liverpool's illustrious history, which includes 18 English league titles and has seen them crowned champions of Europe five times, will push Klopp's squad to match those achievements.
"When I was a little boy, I looked at the Premier League from Catalonia, from outside, and it was always two or three teams, and Manchester City were not there," he said.
"In the past decade our club has been incredible. Every time here in the past six or seven years, we have qualified for the Champions League.
"History is not 10 years, it's much more, it's longer, Anfield is Anfield, Old Trafford is Old Trafford, and the history is there and the Champions League titles are there. The players, when they put the shirt on, they know what they have to defend.
"Maybe in the next decade, the players will feel it when they come here. Our target is there now. It's to go higher and then higher than that - and that is what I want to maintain."
S$278,200 missing from Hougang United Football Club; employee charged with CBT A female administrative staff member, Tean Tai Tee, allegedly misappropriated the sales revenue from the clubhouse between Nov 29 and Dec 11 last year. this case must blame her parents to name her Tean Tai Tee. Tean in canto is tiagong, this female employee hoot
Lucas Moura, from PSG cast-off to Tottenham idol AFP May 8, 2019 AFP No Comments Paris (AFP) - Rejected by Paris Saint-Germain after the world-record signing of Neymar, Lucas Moura propelled Tottenham to heights the French giants could only dream of Wednesday by single-handedly firing Spurs into a first Champions League final.
Lucas Moura - from PSG cast-off to Tottenham idol - Khaleej Times
Maurizio Sarri has dropped the biggest hint yet that Callum Hudson-Odoi will still be a Chelsea player once the January transfer window has shut. The future of the teenager has been widely
Sarri might not be heading to Juventus - Thewistle
Gareth Bale 'nowhere near' being Real Madrid's leader, says Predrag Mijatovic Gareth Bale, who has scored only four goals in the league this season, has been injured over 20 times since his 105 million euro signing from Tottenham Hotspur in 2013.
Football news - Gareth Bale 'nowhere near' being Real Madrid
Reds have helped change Champions League football, Lawrenson says. That is the belief of former Reds defender Mark Lawrenson, who cites the exploits of Jürgen Klopp's team - scorers of 40
Ikhsan scores again but misses in shoot-out loss
'Electric' Sterling has boss purring, Football News & Top
Football: Palace climb away from troube with 3-1 win at Burnley BURNLEY, England (REUTERS) - Crystal Palace moved further away from the Premier League relegation zone with a 3-1 win at fellow strugglers Burnley on Saturday (March 2) thanks to second half goals from Michy Batshuayi and Wilfried Zaha.
Palace climb away from troube with 3-1 win at Burnley - The
ABU DHABI (AFP) - Iran coach Carlos Queiroz said on Friday (Jan 18) that he was "honoured" to be courted by Colombia, who want the former Real Madrid boss to join them after the Asian Cup.. Read
Iran coach Carlos Queiroz set for Colombia switch after Asian
Alexis Sanchez came back to haunt Arsenal as the Chilean opened the scoring in Manchester United's 3-1 FA Cup fourth-round win on Friday to maintain Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's 100 percent record as
Sanchez haunts Arsenal as Man Utd maintain perfect record
Lure of Italy strong, says Chelsea's homesick Sarri Sarri, who unusually for a top football coach came to the sport after a successful career as a banker, has enjoyed a fine end to a
Homesick Sarri hints at Italy return, but Juventus still
ST Young Star Award: Queensway Secondary's history-maker
Football News -LONDON (AFP) - Pep Guardiola welcomed Gabriel Jesus' return to form as the Brazilian struck twice in a 3-1 win over Everton as Manchester City leapfrogged Liverpool back to the top of
Jesus fires as Man City snatch top spot from Liverpool
Salah retains African award to seal great day for Egypt. Mohamed Salah completed a memorable day for Egyptian football by retaining his African Player of the Year award in Senegal Tuesday.
Mohamed Salah Retains African Award To Seal Great Day For Egypt
LONDON: Manchester City swept back to the top of the Premier League as Gabriel Jesus struck twice in the champions' 3-1 win over Everton, while Christian Eriksen kept Tottenham in the title hunt in a last-gasp 1-0 victory against Burnley on Saturday.
Jesus shines as City regain top spot, Eriksen fires Spurs
0 comments:
Post a Comment