"If you ask me today, we'll do it again" - Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola makes bold Premier League title claims
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has backed his team to win the Premier League yet again over Arsenal and Liverpool.
The Cityzens are currently placed third in the English top flight, having racked up 30 points from 14 matches. They are one point behind Liverpool, who are second, and six behind Arsenal, who have played a game more than both the Reds and Guardiola's side.
Claiming that his side need to concede fewer goals to get closer to the title, Guardiola said (via DaveOCKOP):
"The motivation is to do it better… I learned from where I come from that if you want to win, you have to do it better than the opponent. We have to do much better. We have to try and not concede chances or goals."
In the 2023/24 campaign, the Manchester side have conceded 16 goals, more than Arsenal, Liverpool and Newcastle United. However, he continued:
"My feeling today is we will win the Premier League. If you ask me today, if we play at the level of Liverpool or Tottenham, we’ll do it again, knowing it’s not easy. No team has done it yet. That’s the difficulty, (but) if you ask me today how we’re feeling, we’ll do it again."
Manchester City managed to win the Premier League last year after spending 248 days of the 2022/23 season chasing the Gunners. Eventually, the European champions finished five points clear of the north London side, getting the job done with 89 points on the board.
Guardiola's men will be looking to close the gap on Arsenal when they travel to Aston Villa on Wednesday (December 6).
Manchester City prepare to face Aston Villa in the Premier League
A trip to Villa Park awaits the Premier League champions on December 6 for their next Premier League fixture. Aston Villa have enjoyed good home form of late, winning each of their last seven fixtures across competitions at Villa Park.
Unai Emery's side enter this fixture after playing out a thrilling 2-2 draw against Bournemouth on Sunday (December 3). Ollie Watkins scored a 90th-minute equalizer, helping his side earn a point from a difficult away day.
Currently, Aston Villa are placed fourth in the league standings, having managed 29 points from 14 matches. Should this incredible start carry on and the Villans beat Manchester City, they would leapfrog the champions before the weekend's fixtures.