FC look to put one over on local rivals
their lead at the top of the table when they make a trip to fellow promotion hopefuls Brackley Town.
The Ammies are eight points clear at the top, and Brackley sit in third place. A victory for Salford would see them move 15 points clear of their upcoming opponents, but a defeat would see Brackley close the gap to nine points with a game in hand.
Salford will be hoping to redeem themselves after losing 4-0 at Brackley in the FA Trophy in November.
STOCKPORT COUNTY welcome York City to Edgeley Park. The Hatters are in 10th, while York are in fourth place. In the National League, MACCLESFIELD TOWN will try to recover from their shocking 6-0 defeat at Fylde last week when they host Torquay United. PEP Guardiola will focus his attention on an Alexis Sanchez alternative at the end of the season – with the City manager hoping to conduct a large part of his summer business this month.
Guardiola has just days to push through deals for Aymeric Laporte and Fred – his top defensive and midfield targets.
City are prepared to wait until the end of the season for Fred to arrive but are trying to complete the deal before the transfer window closes next week.
Laporte, meanwhile, is expected to move to the Etihad as early as Monday, with the Premier League leaders prepared to meet his £57m buyout clause at Athletic Bilbao.
Guardiola’s intention was to strengthen every department of his team – and expected Sanchez to prove his striking reinforcement before the Chilean opted to join United.
City’s manager still believes he needs reinforcements in that area – targeting a player in the mould of Sanchez, who is capable of operating out wide and through the middle.
Antoine Griezmann was a target last season and the Atletico Madrid striker has been the subject of fresh links to City in recent days.
Guardiola’s preference had been to wait until the summer to bring in a forward, but Sanchez’s determination to leave Arsenal now, and United’s interest, prompted them to consider bringing those plans forward.
Instead the Catalan now has around five months to weigh up an alternative to his No1, with Laporte and Fred the priorities before next Wednesday’s transfer deadline.
Laporte will take Guardiola’s spending to around £450m since taking over at City 18 months ago.
Fred will cost in excess of £45m.
And Guardiola has pointed to further spending in his pursuit of perfection.
Asked how close he was to having an ideal squad, he said: “Never near. The situation in one season, for example, when a player doesn’t play regularly, but they accept that position, maybe the next season they want to leave.
“The player might be at a top level in one season and may not be in another.
“Maybe they don’t accept not playing regularly. It never ends.
“It is always trying to solve situations year by year.
“You have to look forward. You cannot think because you are doing something it is going to work for the next three years. That is a big mistake.
“That is not going to happen. In football, you are a good team, you are a champion.
“Then, in a few months you are bottom, even though you are doing the same things with the same players.”
Guardiola was reluctant to discuss City’s pursuit of Laporte, who rejected a move at the last minute two summers ago.
“He’s a player for Bilbao,” he said. “It’s the same as other players in the clubs, I didn’t speak about previous players. If it happens, it happens, if not then it doesn’t.
“We are trying to do the best for the squad for now, six months, years.”