Guardiola on guard
Once-bitten City manager wary of threat from Everton
LONDON: The English Premier League title credentials of Pep Guardiola’s new-look Manchester City face an early-season examination today when Ronald Koeman’s ambitious Everton visit the Etihad.
With around £150mil (RM828mil) of new players on show, City made an assured start to the campaign by winning 2-0 at promoted Brighton last weekend.
But Everton are also stronger, taking their spending past £130mil (RM718mil) this week with a club-record £45mil (RM248mil) move for Gylfi Sigurdsson, and they trounced City 4-0 when the teams last met in January.
“They are a top squad and they have important players,” said Guardiola, the City manager.
“They lost an important player, (Romelu) Lukaku but they have a good group of players – midfield players and strikers. They are one of the best teams in the Premier League, I am pretty sure of that.
“I expect they will play the same way and attack our defence.
“Sandro Ramirez and Wayne Rooney are used to playing in that way. They have a strong defence. They have great players and are dangerous on the counter-attack.”
City’s 4-0 defeat at Goodison Park in January was the low point of Guardiola’s maiden campaign in England which ended with his side 15 points adrift of champions Chelsea in third place.
The visitors had 71% of possession and registered 13 attempts on goal to Everton’s six but they were wasteful in attack and alarmingly porous in defence.
Of the goalkeeper and four defenders who started at Goodison, only centrebacks Nicolas Otamendi and John Stones are expected to be involved today.
Guardiola has used a three-man defence in pre-season and at Brighton, with captain Vincent Kompany bringing much-needed authority at the back and new boys Kyle Walker and Danilo supplying thrust on the flanks.
City’s third new fullback, Benjamin Mendy, is not yet ready to make his debut due to a thigh injury. — AFP