City may need 96pts to win title: Pep

LONDON • Manchester City have a nine-point lead over second-place Liverpool, but with the Reds holding a game in hand and the two sides still to face each other in April, Pep Guardiola cannot rest easy.

The Catalan will not entertain any talk his side have turned the 2021-22 season into a procession, insisting yesterday that a 95-or 96-point tally was probably necessary in order for City to claim their fourth Premier League title in five seasons.

The Reds won the title in 2020 with 99 points.

On Thursday, their boss Jurgen Klopp played down his side's chances of catching City, saying they do not "smell our breath".

But speaking ahead of today's league trip to relegation-threatened Norwich City, Guardiola dismissed the German's comments as mind games.

"We have to fight to win the league and if we want to win, we'll have to win an incredible amount of points against an incredible opponent we've faced many times," he said.

"The margin against Liverpool is nothing. We have to win a lot - more than 90 points. 95, 96 to be champions."

Last season, City secured the title with 86 points, 12 ahead of neighbours Manchester United, but a revitalised Liverpool side are easily capable of going on a long unbeaten run, so there is little margin for error this term.

Guardiola's men face a buoyant Norwich team who have collected seven points from their last three games under manager Dean Smith, who replaced Daniel Farke in November.

The Canaries are still 18th, two points from safety, but the City boss can sense that Smith has lifted the mood at Carrow Road.

"It's a new manager, new game. We lost two seasons ago there (3-2 defeat in 2019-20), of course Norwich have momentum. It's excellent... we play them at their best moment of the season," said Guardiola.

To combat the hosts, he plans to start Riyad Mahrez, who has not only scored eight goals in his last seven games but has also netted in each of his last two appearances against Smith's team.

If he gets on the scoresheet today, the Algeria international will become the first City player since Sergio Aguero back in 2014 to score in eight successive games and Guardiola wants the winger to continue to hit new heights.

"The quality of the finishing, the personality of the penalties. When he's close in the box, his ability, his technique, because he's not so strong, so he needs the speed. He has this quality," he said. "He can do better this season to reach the level he had in the last four to six months of last season. It was outstanding... He can do that."

REUTERS

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