Pep Guardiola confident in title pursuit as Man City prepare for Aston Villa

LONDON – Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola insists they are far from finished in the English Premier League title race, offering a wry take on the narrative surrounding his side’s campaign ahead of their trip to Aston Villa on Oct 26.

City – who won six league titles in seven years before finishing third last season – trail leaders Arsenal by three points after eight games, and Guardiola poked fun at the pundits’ early-season criticism.

“In the first two, three games we were done and now it looks like Liverpool (who are third after three consecutive losses) are done,” he said, tongue in cheek. “I’ll tell you that we will be back. 

“I’ve said many times that the pundits, the specialists, the former footballers know what’s going to happen after five games – I’m not able to do that.”

City are unbeaten in their past nine games in all competitions since suffering back-to-back Premier League defeats by Tottenham Hotspur and Brighton & Hove Albion in August.

Guardiola believes the picture will become clearer only deeper into the season. 

“Ten, 15 games to know what’s going on. Liverpool and Arsenal are there, someone else will be there and hopefully we can be there,” he told reporters on Oct 24.

The City boss also said his team had good momentum but were still searching for consistency, adding: “Our mentality and our body language is in the right spot and it will make us stable but (we need to) play better during 95 minutes.”

Looking ahead to the Oct 26 clash, Guardiola said he expected a tough test against Unai Emery’s team, who have beaten City at Villa Park in the past two seasons.

The Birmingham side started their campaign slowly but have climbed to 11th in the table heading into this weekend after three straight wins.

“Always it has been really tough, especially away, against Aston Villa,” said Guardiola. “So it’s a really good test for us, of how we are.”

There were no changes on the injury front, with Guardiola confirming that those who missed

their 2-0 midweek Champions League win over Villarreal

– including Rodri, who has not played since injuring his hamstring ahead of the October international break – remain sidelined.

There is uncertainty around Nico Gonzalez’s availability after he was taken off with a foot injury against Villarreal. Guardioloa said: “I didn’t see the doctors. We’ll see today and tomorrow how he feels. It was something with his feet.”

He also weighed in on the growing trend of long throw-ins, a tactic City have largely avoided. 

“We’d have to buy a player with strong shoulders and arms to put the ball in (to the box) and we don’t have it,” he joked. “Before we had Kyle (Walker) and we didn’t use him.

“It’s a tendency in many clubs. It’s like a corner and it’s not easy. Brentford do it, Tottenham and Arsenal as well. It doesn’t matter if I like or don’t like. It’s a weapon and we have to adapt.” REUTERS, AFP