Guardiola
The Manchester City manager has not ruled Manchester United out of the Premier League title race.
Guardiola’s City side have the chance to leapfrog leaders Chelsea when the two teams meet at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday.
But the Spaniard says it is too early to rule any club out of winning the Premier League with two thirds of the season still left to play. United slipped 11 points behind Chelsea after their 1-1 draw with West Ham on Sunday.
“To be honest [the title race] is Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal, Tottenham, Manchester United,” Guardiola told a news conference after City’s 2-1 win at Burnley on Saturday. “The league this year is unpredictable and it’s going to be decided in the last two or three months.”
Guardiola’s side are a point behind Chelsea and sit below Liverpool in the table on goal difference, but he is delighted to be within touching distance of the two sides, who do not have any European football this season.
Guardiola can now concentrate on the Premier League having secured a place in the Champions League knockout stages and will have a full week to prepare for Saturday’s game for the first time since the opening week of the season.
“We’ll have played eight more games — terrible games — in the Champions League than Chelsea and Liverpool and we are there. That’s why the first part of the season is so satisfying,” he said.
“Playing seven, eight more games in the Champions League, after going to Stoke and West Brom, and to still be with Liverpool and Chelsea, when they don’t play in Europe, is good for us.
“This Chelsea side play one time a week. It is easier to prepare well, to recover well, to take full advantage of recovery. This week we played Wednesday and, after that, straight away on Saturday.
“Sometimes it is tough to be focused again, it is tough on us in these kind of games. You have to be mentally and physically prepared to compete.”
City’s game at Burnley on Saturday kicked off at lunchtime after they played in Germany against Borussia Monchengladbach on Wednesday night.
Guardiola said the scheduling was not ideal but that it was the same for all English clubs in the Champions League.
“I’m not a guy who complains so much, believe me,” he said. “It’s happened. What can I do? Call the federation? No. They are going to change? No. OK, they put 12:30 p.m. so we have to be here and play at 12:30 p.m., and if you lose, congratulations Burnley and keep going.”
