With City five points behind pace-setters Arsenal, our boss is predicting another tight title race.
But consecutive victories against Liverpool in the Carabao Cup and Leeds United following the return of the Premier League has given Guardiola the belief that his players are ready for another challenge, starting with the visit of Everton on New Year’s Eve.
“We have not even finished the first leg of fixtures so many things, I think, are going to happen,” he said in his pre-match news conference.
“The title race in my experience is about the way you play. Not because we have done it in the past, it’s what we’re going to do in the future.
“But if we continue to play like we did in the last two games, create more and concede less, and if we continue improving, then we will be there.
“For the quality that we have and the players that we have, we will be there.”
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Newcastle have emerged as surprise contenders this season and Guardiola says there is no reason why they cannot also challenge for the Premier League but says his players must concentrate on their own game.
“It’s not about Arsenal or Newcastle it’s about ourselves,” he added. “We won at Leeds because we were ourselves, not because we won four Premier Leagues in the last five years.
“If you are there, it depends on how you perform, not because we wear a blue shirt, or in the last decade we were the best team in England. It’s not about that.”
Watch the second half of Guardiola’s pre-Everton press conference via the video above!
