MANCHESTER, United Kingdom (AFP) - Kevin de Bruyne could return from injury as Manchester City bid to inflict Liverpool's first Premier League defeat of the season and put pressure on them in the title race, City manager Pep Guardiola said on Wednesday (Jan 2).
The return of De Bruyne would boost City's hopes of beating Liverpool and reducing their lead at the top to four points.
It would also be a filip to their title defence which suffered a serious blow with three defeats in their last five league matches.
The 27-year-old Belgian midfielder, City's player of the year, has endured an injury-affected campaign, restricting him to just six league appearances.
He was out of action from August until late October with a knee injury, then suffered a calf problem in early November that sidelined him for more than a month.
Having returned again in mid-December, he suffered a muscle problem during the defeat at Leicester on Boxing Day.
Guardiola, though, is hopeful De Bruyne can feature on Thursday as City look to drag themselves back into the title race.
"He trained today," said Guardiola at his eve of match press conference.
"Tomorrow (Thursday), we need another check in the morning but he is much better."
'THE BEST TEAM IN EUROPE'
In contrast to City's indifferent recent league record Jurgen Klopp's side have won nine league matches in a row, and have the best defensive record, conceding eight goals in 20 matches this season.
During that nine-match winning run, Liverpool have kept six clean sheets and conceded just three goals, and Guardiola acknowledges his own team have to improve their defensive record, as well as becoming more ruthless in attack.
Â
"You have to see how many chances we concede," said Guardiola.
"We are the second-best team in Europe in terms of the chances we create, so we are not precise enough.
"In the past few games, we have conceded more goals than usual but the number of chances we have conceded is not too much."
Guardiola has tried to play down suggestions defeat on Thursday would effectively end City's chances of retaining the title they won with a competition record of 100 points last May.
"The reality is clear. We are seven points down, but it is the second game of the second half of the season, so there are a lot of points to play for," said Guardiola.
"I have the feeling it is a big opportunity for us to reduce the gap.
"Everybody is asking what will happen if we lose but we are going to try to win.
"It is our chance to fight for the Premier League, to go as far as possible," added the 47-year-old Spaniard.
Liverpool have dropped just six points all season, and Guardiola believes they are currently the most consistent team in Europe.
"It is Liverpool, the best team in all England in history.
"We can beat them. I know today nobody trusts us but it is what it is.
"They are in the moment the best team in Europe, in their consistency, the way they control the details in their game."
SINGAPORE - New Football Association of Singapore (FAS) technical director Joseph Palatsides hopes to rouse local football from its slumber. "I see Singapore football as a sleeping giant," said
Football: New FAS technical director Joseph Palatsides aims
Football: Ozil leads five-star Arsenal past Bournemouth
Manchester United will be without Anthony Martial and Jesse Lingard for Monday's FA Cup clash at Chelsea with both sidelined for up to three weeks after picking up injuries during Tuesday's
Man Utd's Martial, Lingard to Miss Chelsea, Liverpool Matches
Victor Lindelof missed Manchester United' s 2-1 win over Watford on Saturday after receiving Lindelof was absent for Sweden's 2-1 win against Romania and 3-3 draw with More On. Ole Gunnar
FAS' media-rights partner begins bankruptcy process, Football
Olivier Giroud speaks to BT Sport's Paul Dempsey after scoring a hat-trick in Chelsea's 5-0 Europa League win against Dynamo Kiev. Hat-trick hero Giroud revels in Europa League form | BT Sport
Giroud hat-trick helps Chelsea ease into Europa League
Vincent Kompany: Man City are the best in the world
Griezmann scored in the 85th minute. Real Madrid stumbled in its campaign to end a four-season La Liga title drought with a 1-1 home tie with cross-town rivals Atletico Madrid on Saturday. In a
Barcelona | A Complete Guide to Barcelona
AD
Treble winners Man City enjoy parade. AFP May 20, 2019, 8:50 PM UTC. 1 / 3. Manchester City celebrated their domestic treble with an open-top bus parade on Monday, drawing an estimated 100,000
Treble winners Man City enjoy parade - World Soccer Talk
worldsoccertalk.com/2019/05/20/treble-winners-man-city-enjoy-parade/
Treble winners Man City enjoy parade AFP May 20, 2019 AFP 1 Comment Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) - Manchester City celebrated their domestic treble with an open-top bus parade on Monday, drawing an estimated 100,000 fans to the streets of the city centre.
Treble winners Manchester City enjoy parade - sports
Football: Southampton stay up after thrilling 3-3 draw with Bournemouth SOUTHAMPTON, England (REUTERS) - Southampton secured their Premier League status for another year after a thrilling 3-3 home draw with Bournemouth on Saturday (April 27) as Cardiff City slumped to a 1-0 defeat at Fulham.
Ralph Hasenhuttl: Southampton task more difficult than taking
Missed chance for Reds, Football News & Top Stories - The
Pochettino plans to ruin old pal Guardiola's Champions League bid bid to win the Champions League for the first time since 2011 will come under threat from his old friend Mauricio Pochettino
Pochettino plans to ruin old pal Guardiola's Champions League
Pochettino's side would have moved within two points of leaders Manchester City with a win at Turf Moor. But they squandered the chance to enhance their title prospects with a sloppy display that
0 comments:
Post a Comment