City return to domestic action with the visit of Chelsea to the Etihad Stadium in Saturday’s evening kick-off, looking to respond to the disappointing defeat to Liverpool before the international break.
With the squad having responded well to similar setbacks in the past, Guardiola has urged his men to fight back, as his side prepare for another hectic fixture schedule.
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“I have no doubt (that the response to adversity is the sign of a great team),” he said.
“We can do it again. We have the desire. If there are players who don’t have desire, we have to change them for others who do – but we have it.
“Even in the first season when we lost to Monaco, we did it – many times.
“Maybe I’m wrong but I see them everyday and I don’t have that feeling (that the players lack desire).
“You never always win in sport. It’s part of normality. People say: ‘It’s gone, it’s over’ but the people, the pundits – all of them – have to remember that it’s November.
“Until May, we are the Champions and we want to defend that until the end.
“Will that be enough? There are many times in history where you are incredible but one or two are better than you; you have to congratulate them.
“I enjoy watching Liverpool and Chelsea. It’s good for football to find these managers and to play in these ways.
“If another team wins the title, then we will try next season. We have two options: give up, or don’t give up. It’s up to us.
“If you look at the way we played at Anfield and in other games, you can see we are not going to give up.
“I see things you are unable to see – every training session at 11am, I am in the locker room, and in games… I have a plan. Sometimes, the plan works and we win; sometimes, it doesn’t. It’s about strategy but I have more info.
“The players will do their best. We have to find the solution. Big Clubs always overcome these situations.
“The way we played at Anfield – with the problems we had and players in different positions – it was our best performance there. That’s what I want from my team – I want to see the team behave like we did for the last three seasons.
“The most important thing is that we know we can do it. We are not far away from the way we played in the last seasons but we know the team was almost unstoppable.
“Not everything is perfect in life. It’s about how you approach that and how you compete in those situations. I have to prove myself and the players have to prove themselves.
“We are nine points behind. It normally happens in the early stages of the season; the football we have is still there.
“We have to chase Liverpool. I prefer to play rivals when we are six points in front – not six behind. We have more pressure than them – they can lose games and still lead.
“We are fourth so there are three teams with more chances to win the Premier League than us but it is November.
“We have a lot of things to think about with our team and what we can do to help.”
