City players get a Pep talk ahead of clash

PEP Guardiola will tell his players to forget about the Premier League table when his goal-laden Manchester City team walks out to face Newcastle United, writes LEE RYDER.

The former Barcelona and Bayern Munich manager has warned his squad not to take United lightly just because they had been on such a bad run before the win at West Ham.

With City building up a massive lead at the top of the Premier League table, United’s players know they are facing their most daunting task of the campaign so far.

Guardiola said: “We must do what we have done up until now.

“I will not tell them to do anything different.

“Newcastle won against West Ham when West Ham had been in a good moment because of their results.

“The best thing we can do is focus when we are in Newcastle.

“We have to just focus defensively, offensively and individually.

“We have to forget about the schedule and the table and focus on what we have to do.

“We will sit down with the staff with our laptops and try to discover what they (Newcastle) do.”

Man City will assess the fitness levels of one of their many star men in Kevin De Bruyne.

The Belgium international was taken off in the 4-0 win against AFC Bournemouth but Guardiola explained: “He was sick.

“In the last few days he was vomiting. He had a fever and lost two or three kilos in weight.

“However, we decided he should start and then come off when he was tired.”