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City ace ready to rise and shine in air force battle

PEP GUARDIOLA will put his faith in 5ft 9ins Fernandinho to deal with Burnley’s aerial bombardment tonight.

The Manchester City boss knows his side cannot afford another slip-up on the back of their 2-2 draw at Newcastle on Saturday.

That allowed leaders Liverpool to stretch their gap over the defending champions to 11 points.

But as they prepare to face an intimidating front line led by Chris Wood, who will tower over Fernandinho by six inches, Guardiola is ready to resist the temptation to replace the Brazilian with Nicolas Otamendi or even Rodri.

He has, however, warned his side to be switched on at set-pieces.

“What they do, they do perfectly,” said Guardiola. “They play quick with (Ashley) Barnes and Wood, and arrive quick in the sides.

“They are so good in the second balls and are free-kick scorers so we need to adapt and play our way.

“We need to defend high and try to play as much as possible and to avoid it as much as possible.”

Fernandinho is likely to be partnered by John Stones, and the England defender is refusing to give up on the title because he believes the pressure of leading from the front could eventually get to Liverpool.

Asked whether Guardiola’s side believe they can bridge the gap, Stones said: “The challenge is still very much on as far as we are concerned.

“And as soon as we lose that desire to win and think it’s done then it definitely is done.

“We don’t have that in the dressing room, we want to fight for every competition and fight in every game.

“We put a healthy pressure on our shoulders to say we can achieve this, and we can claw back points and close the gap.

“It’s very difficult to be out in front and you can sometimes be complacent and not do things you should do, that’s when you can slip up. There are advantages and disadvantages to both situations and we are where we are.

“We can’t change that at the minute, but the Burnley game is a chance to go one step closer to closing that gap.”

Stones knows that City will have to raise their game and readily concedes they have not yet managed to hit the high levels of last season.

He added: “It’s not been as freeflowing. Results don’t help, but how we’ve played and fought and the desire of the team – I don’t think anyone can doubt that.

“There are obviously errors and mistakes that we are disappointed with.

“We’ve just got to focus on improving and get back to winning ways as soon as possible.”

Guardiola will be without Aguero again and the City confirmed the striker will also Saturday’s Manchester derby.

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