Guardiola has not thought about the great war against Bayern and Arsenal
Man City faces a packed schedule in April. After defeating Liverpool 4-1 in round 29, the Manchester club Southampton, Leicester, Arsenal and Fulham respectively in the English Premier League in April. In which, the great match. The battle at Etihad Stadium on April 26 with the top team Arsenal can decide the crown this season, due to the current gap between the two teams of eight points. In addition, they also have a match against Sheffield United in the semi-finals of the FA Cup on April 22, and especially two matches against Bayern in the Champions League quarter-finals on April 11 and April 19.
According to Pep Guardiola, the most important thing is the game ahead, not big rivals like Bayern or Arsenal. "We are not thinking about Bayern yet. Man City is now only focused on the Southampton game. The Premier League takes place every day, every week. Now, Man City's chance of winning the title depends on the Southampton game," Guardiola said. said on 7/4 in the press conference before the match against Southampton.
If you win at St. Mary's today, Man City will shorten the gap to five points and put pressure on Arsenal - the team will be Liverpool's guest a day later. But Guardiola warned Man City that it is not easy to get all three points, even though Southampton are at the bottom of the table. "Now, every club is fighting for something. It is an equally important battle in the Premier League," said Guardiola. "Every game has its own characteristics and you have to be ready. Being a guest against Southampton is always difficult, and tomorrow will be no exception."
When asked more about the upcoming match against Arsenal, Guardiola continued to emphasize that he is only focused on each game. The Spaniard explained: "It's still a long time before we meet Arsenal. Of course, Man City need to win Southampton, Leicester and Arsenal. If we lose points, Arsenal will soon win. And if we win. consecutively, Man City can be crowned in the final round."
The 52-year-old coach also confirmed that Erling Haaland had swallowed the last two training sessions and was ready to play, after nearly three weeks of recovering from a hip injury. This injury once prevented the 22-year-old striker from playing with Norway in the first two rounds of Euro 2024 qualifying, as well as the great victory over Liverpool.
This season, Haaland has scored 42 goals in 37 games in all competitions for City, including six hat-tricks. In the Premier League alone, he leads the list of top scorers with 28 goals, six more than Tottenham's Harry Kane.
This season, 12 managers have lost their jobs in the Premier League, of which Graham Potter at Chelsea and Brendan Rodgers at Leicester are the latest names. Guardiola said the culture of English football has changed, and even he is unsure of the seat when the needs of the English Premier League clubs are increasing.
"Results are a priority, but that only matters if the plan works," said Guardiola. "In England, when I was younger, clubs had a tradition of keeping the manager. But now, with different owners, with a lot of pressure and a lot of investment, it's all changed. All suffer. There's a lot of pressure, from the coach to the board. People believe that change will make them better. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. All coaches know that risk. ".
When asked about avoiding being sacked because he knew the right time to leave the club, Guardiola jokingly replied: "I'll tell you a secret, we win many games. If we don't win, I lose. I'm not fired because the club has won a lot of games over the years, not because my hair is better than everyone else's."
