Manchester City have to be ready because anything can happen, warns Pep Guardiola

LONDON – No matter the result of Arsenal’s clash with Chelsea on Tuesday, Manchester City are simply looking ahead and not at the teams below them, as they seek to win a fifth Premier League title in six seasons.

Manager Pep Guardiola will wake up on Wednesday to prepare for City’s home clash against West Ham United knowing that his team have two games in hand on the Gunners and also the upper hand.

On current form, in which they have won eight league games in a row, few will bet against them winning all six remaining games but Guardiola is taking it match by match and nothing else.

“I don’t control their (Arsenal) results. I’m concentrating on West Ham,” he said on Tuesday, when City were one point ahead of the Gunners (75) with a game in hand.

“Maybe West Ham haven’t done as well as they expected because last year under David Moyes they were exceptional.

“But the quality is there. Set pieces they are maybe one of the best. The weapons are there. The team are there. I don’t have any doubts. In one game, anything can happen, so we have to be ready.”

Although City are in red-hot form, they have kept only two clean sheets in their last 12 league matches, which could be a concern for Guardiola.

However, it is in attack – led by Erling Haaland’s 34 Premier League goals, 50 in total – where they shine.

City will be confident against a West Ham side against whom they are unbeaten in 14 top-flight games, winning 11 – including a 2-0 success at the London Stadium in August.

Guardiola’s men, top scorers in the league with 84 goals in 32 games, have won their last six encounters with the Hammers at the Etihad.

To top it off, they have the best home record so far this season with 43 points from a possible 48.

Everything is falling nicely for City but Guardiola also warned that the title race is not over yet.

“There is one more month, for sure,” he said.

“We play this way for six or seven years, we are used to it. It’s not the only time we’ve played seven times in one month.

“If a player is tired, then someone else plays. If you have positive thoughts, you are not tired. With just six games left, we have to recover and go for it. If one player is tired then hands up, and if not then you’re ready to play.”

Kevin de Bruyne is an injury doubt for the match, while Nathan Ake will be available.

West Ham, meanwhile, have lost their last two matches, against Liverpool and Crystal Palace, following what seemed to be a morale-boosting 4-0 win at Bournemouth.

Their recent results mean that Moyes’ men are in 15th and only four points clear of relegation with five matches remaining.

The West Ham boss will not be helped by tough fixtures coming up. Following Wednesday’s game, the Hammers will take on Manchester United before the first leg of their Europa Conference League semi-final at home to AZ Alkmaar.

For now, though, Moyes is also just thinking about City.

“You approach it the same you approach any fixture, but we know they are a very good team. We’ve been to the Etihad a lot and had some good performances there,” he said.

“I felt that we were a good enough team to improve our results. Since the World Cup, our results have been much, much better. But the last couple of games just haven’t gone our way.

“A week or so ago, we had one of the best weeks we had for a while. Our performance against Liverpool was good, not so much against Palace.”

Kurt Zouma is expected to miss out on Wednesday following an ankle injury, joining long-term absentee Gianluca Scamacca on the sidelines.