PREMIER LEAGUE
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola ‘has an idea’ for Champions League semi-final against Real Madrid
City are favourites to win the Premier League following Wednesday’s victory over Arsenal and could win the treble this season.
Two points separate leaders Arsenal and second-placed Manchester City at the top of the Premier League, with the Mancunians having played two fewer games. Should Pep Guardiola’s side win away to Fulham on Sunday, they will overtake the Gunners, whose next fixture isn’t until Tuesday, when they host Chelsea.
The former Barcelona head coach’s in-form team will face Real Madrid in the semi-finals of the Champions League and are still in with a chance of FA Cup glory too, but he isn’t taking anything for granted, which he was keen to stress in Friday’s pre-match press conference before the trip to London.
Are you now favourites for the title? Is it over after Wednesday’s win?
It’s not over, It’ll be over when it’s over. We still have seven games and we have to play ours this weekend. I know what happened when we won at the Emirates... then we draw at Nottingham Forest. Now we go to Fulham to play against an incredible team. We’re taking nothing for granted. We’re happy with the last game and the performance but that’s all. I know there aren’t 20 games left, there are seven, but seven games are seven games. Especially considering we have Champions League games and so on.
Will Arsenal be able to turn things back around?
I know Mikel Arteta perfectly well. The players know him too. they Arsenal will not give up. If we were 10 points ahead then I’d say it’s over. But we are two points behind. We have to beat Fulham and West Ham. That’s the reality. We are behind. If the season finished today, they’d be champions. It’s possible to lose points and draw games in one week. We have to be aware of that.
How do you keep your players motivated?
I don’t give motivational speeches. I talk about what I feel about the game we’re going to play. Sometimes the guys are more calm or aggressive, sometimes you have to lift them. Against Arsenal, I didn’t say one word. We’re playing for the Premier League. They know exactly what that means.
I asked how the warm-up and they said they were ‘so calm’. Players in that situation are relaxed and they know exactly what they have to do. It will be the same against Real Madrid, they know what’s at stake in the semi-finals of the Champions League.
Have you thought about how will you set up to face Real Madrid?
No, I haven’t prepared anything yet. I have an idea more or less but nothing specific, if they changed from last season....Normally, I focus on the next game. We don’t have time to prioritise anything. Being champions again is as important as the Champions League. It’s every week against everyone. My attention is on Fulham, then West Ham, then Leeds. And then we will prepare for Madrid.