Guardiola aims to get City back on track with victory over Chelsea
Pep Guardiola believes today’s clash at home with Chelsea will prove whether Manchester City are back in the title race or not.
City won the league by a record margin last season, but are involved in a tighter battle with Liverpool this time.
City have already lost four games – twice as many as last term – but given the difficulties teams have had in retaining the title in recent years, Guardiola feels his side are very well placed.
Now he wants City to build on that to become the first team to win back-toback league crowns in a decade.
Guardiola said: “I have known in the last five or six years the position where the champions will be the year after – all of them were out and didn’t have a chance to win the Premier League.
“However, we are there. That is what I like the most this season. So when people say that we underestimated Newcastle, we underestimated teams in Europe or whatever, I say we are in the League Cup Final and in all the competitions we are fighting.
“In the last two seasons Leicester and Chelsea had no chance, but we are there at the top. That is what I like the most, but we want to be there until the end.
“If we win against Chelsea it will help us, and I am sure we will be there fighting to be champions again.”
Chelsea are one of the four teams to have beaten City this season, winning their meeting at Stamford Bridge in early December.
It was City’s first league loss of the campaign, with further defeats to Crystal Palace, Leicester and Newcastle highlighting areas of weakness in Guardiola’s squad.
One of them is the lack of a back-up to midfielder Fernandinho who, at 33, will also need to be replaced before too long.
This is likely to be one of the top priorities when summer recruit plans are drawn up.
Guardiola said: “The scouting department is always looking for players for different positions, and you never know what is going to happen.
“We have some options and are looking for some more options, but today it is not easy to find the player and to buy the player, so we will see.
“Until summer, we have time. We are trying to help Fernandinho in that position.”
Maurizio Sarri wants Jorginho to show his credentials as Chelsea’s great dictator in today’s encounter.
Both City and Sarri’s Chelsea like to dominate possession, with central playmaker Jorginho key to the Blues’ style.
That is where Sarri believes the match will be decided, rather than by the likes of Eden Hazard and Gonzalo Higuain for the visitors, or Sergio Aguero and company for the hosts.
Sarri said: “It will be really very difficult to be in control of the match. The match is in midfield more than in the strikers.” Jorginho has made the most passes in the league this season (2,219), while Fernandinho is key for City, allowing his flashier team-mates to flourish.
Sarri, though, is adamant that stopping Chelsea is not as simple as nullifying Jorginho, who followed him to Stamford Bridge from Napoli – likewise with Fernandinho and City.
“They are able to play if you stop Fernandinho and also we’re able to play if you stop Jorginho,” Sarri said.
“We have options. Maybe they have more options than us because they have worked on this for three seasons.
“But I remember that in Naples it wasn’t a big problem if there was a man on Jorginho, so I hope it will be the same here in the future. “Guardiola’s team want to always be in possession of the ball and they’re able to do it.
“We are used to having the ball and possession too. We will try to play our football,” he added.