MANCHESTER CITY’S PREMIER League title defence will be challenged from multiple directions, according to Pep Guardiola – who claimed Manchester United and Chelsea could still be in the hunt.
City travel to Everton on Wednesday, for a fixture that has been moved forward due to their participation in the EFL Cup final later this month, knowing victory will move them above leaders Liverpool on goal difference.
Jurgen Klopp’s team failed to capitalise on City’s 2-1 loss at Newcastle United last week as they were held to back-to-back 1-1 draws with Leicester City and West Ham, while Guardiola’s men returned to winning ways by seeing off Arsenal 3-1 at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday.
That victory edged them two points ahead of Tottenham in third after the Londoners restated their own title claims with battling wins against Watford and Newcastle at Wembley.
But Guardiola feels the amount of points left to play for means other horses could enter the race – casting a particular glance across town to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s resurgent United.
“I never said Tottenham are not there,” he told a pre-match news conference.
“I never put out [of the race] all five or six teams and United is making this run of victories every single week. They will be there to fight for the Premier League.
“We see the table and see the first two or three and say, ‘They are able to be champions’ and we don’t look further than that. If Chelsea win games in-a-row they will be a contender too to win the Premier League.
“Everybody is there. The gap is not too big. With 39 points to play for, nine or 10 points behind is not too much. Seeing the Premier League now, everybody is ready to take points.”
It amounts to the type of title battle the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich coach expected when he moved to England, stating City’s 100-point season last time around is something of an outlier.
“I would say it is typical in England, this type of situation. What is not common is what happened last season – a team with 100 points and a lot of distance, 18 games winning,” Guardiola said.
“Normal is what happens now. Every game is tough. You can win and lose every single game.
“Everybody is involved for all the chances to win all the titles, [qualify for] Europe, trying to stay in the Premier League.”
In the case of Everton boss Marco Silva, the fight is to placate an increasingly restless fanbase and remain in a job.
The Merseyside club have won three and lost seven of 12 Premier League games since the start of December and were booed by the Goodison Park crowd after Saturday’s loss to Wolves.
But Silva has the backing of his midweek opponent.
“The people do not know how difficult it is to create a team. The people believe I buy three or four players as a new manager and everything fits perfectly immediately,” Guardiola added.
“Sometimes it takes time. My advice, if they believe in one project, if they believe in him, they have to move forward with him. No one can ensure the new manager is going to be better.
“It is difficult to create and to build something. You need time. It depends on them, whether they trust or not.”
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LeBron is definitely the best player in the NBA this year. Harden puts up great highlights and is unbelievably skillful but not a better player this year.
@kevcrowley: is that why Curry wipes the floor with him in the finals… you know, the part of the season that matters?
@Jonathan Nolan: curry wasn’t even Finals mvp , and in the finals the last two years it’s been pretty much 4 v 1 with a bit of Kevin Love and Kyrie last year
@Jonathan Nolan: curry can blow hot and cold beteeen quarters and have Kevin Durant or Klay Thompson take over scoring. James played every minute nearly and has huge defensive responsibility on top. No comparison with Curry
@kevcrowley: every minute??!! Is that why he was on the bench or sitting at the side of the clock for 20 minutes per game 2 & 3?
@Aidan Holden: is that Curry’s daily for having a team around him?
@kevcrowley: bottom line is LeBum James only has as many rings as Larry Bird, yet he’s been in almost twice as many finals. The guy has skills, but he’s a chump. At the end of a career it’s rings that are the legacy, and LeBum will be hard pressed getting another one
@Jonathan Nolan: do you think calling him LeBum makes you sound smart and reasonable?
@Jonathan Nolan: well in that case a ‘chump’ is the 2nd greatest player of all time
@Jonathan Nolan: your opinion on basketball is complete rubbish I’ve seen all the top players in the league play live and LeBron is superior than every single one of them
Instead of calling people bums take the time to actually watch them play basketball in the flesh before you talk
Your opinion is complete rubbish
@Aidan Holden: after Larry Bird and Magic Johnson? Aren’t you forgetting about Jordan?
@Barry McCarthy: No, would be the answer to that one Barry. It’s just my opinion. He’s the most over hyped player in NBA history. You are entitled to your own opinion. Fair enough
@Jonathan Nolan: MJ number 1 LBJ number 2
Should’ve won it in 2011 but This year Harden was a fair choice
@Ruairi Doyle: in 2011 he wasn’t starting and averaged about 10 ppg what?
4-0 says it all. And LeBum was the one with 4 x L’s against his name at seasons end
@Jonathan Nolan: weird
@Jonathan Nolan: 4-0 says absolutely nothing since its REGULAR SEASON MVP.