Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has said out loud what we’re all thinking about the current state of his side’s season. The two time defending Premier League champions trail table topping Liverpool by 14 points, and the Reds have a game in hand to boot.
Guardiola, on at least a couple occasions, has conceded the league title race. With that out of the question now, and a domestic treble achieved last season, what’s left for his City to accomplish? What about European glory? Guardiola confirmed as such- City will now focus on trying to win the UEFA Champions League title.
“A team which has the numbers of Liverpool, why should we think about that?” Guardiola asked.
“It’s just preparing, play good and better to be as close to the top of the league as we can, prepare for the knockout competitions and for the next season.”
“Every game helps us to improve for next season. Hopefully we can do better. The motivation is to improve because when we improve we win games and that is the way to live better. That is the best motivation for all of us. Even in the past.”
“The fans can say or do whatever they want but they cannot deny that the team in the last three years was incredible in every single competition.”
City resumes their UCL campaign in February, taking on Real Madrid in the round of 16. That’s down the line, what is front of us is a home clash with Everton on New Year’s Day. The Toffees have won both matches (Burnley, Newcastle United) since Carlo Ancelotti took over and this is a totally different side from what we saw under Marco Silva.
Duncan Ferguson woke then up and now Ancelotti is taking them higher. The extremely accomplished manager will be without the services of Alex Iwobi, Andre Gomes and Jean-Philippe Gbamin in this one, while a calf issue leaves Morgan Schneiderlin a strong doubt here.
Flipping over to the hosts, Sergio Aguero, having returned to action successfully, is in line for a starting assignment, but David Silva and John Stones remain doubtful. Leroy Sane and Aymeric Laporte remain long term injury absentees.
Manchester City vs Everton FYIs
Manchester City starting XI Prediction: go to this link
Kickoff: City of Manchester Stadium, January 1, 5:30pm
Form Guide: Manchester City- WLWWL Everton- WWDDW
Google Result Probability: Manchester City win 76%, Draw 15%, Everton win 9%
Prediction: Manchester City 3, Everton 1
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” regularly appears on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
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