Karanka’s Pep pop

AITOR KARANKA says Pep Guardiola is not even the best manager in Manchester, let alone the world. The Middlesbrough boss, a Champions League winner with Real Madrid as a player and later assistant to Jose Mourinho at the Bernabeu, faces former Barcelona star Guardiola for the first time in the dugout at Manchester City today. ‘For me, Jose is a better manager than Pep,’ said Karanka. ‘I worked with Jose for three years and I know his methodology, I know his character. It was amazing to work with him.’ Asked if Manchester City manager Guardiola had proven himself to be the best in the world, Karanka said: ‘One of the best. But we also have Jose. We have Diego Simeone in Spain, Jurgen Klopp, Mauricio Pochettino and Antonio Conte here, so there are a lot of top coaches.’ Karanka hopes Boro striker Alvaro Negredo will be fired up against his former club. ‘When you have played in a big team and now you are facing them in their stadium, it can be an extra motivation,’ he said.