LONDON • Pep Guardiola's revitalised Manchester City face a potentially tricky challenge at home to Wolves today (tomorrow morning Singapore time) as they attempt to cut the deficit to Premier League leaders Liverpool to four points.
However, City have shown enough just two weeks into the new year to suggest that their uncharacteristic collapse in form last month is firmly behind them.
The English champions' slump was triggered after Chelsea ended their unbeaten streak in the league and they subsequently lost successive league games, against relatively modest opposition in both Crystal Palace and Leicester.
But a victory over the Reds to kick off the second half of the term has completely rejuvenated the mood at the Etihad Stadium.
Since then, two Cup routs in the space of four days - albeit against lower league clubs Rotherham and Burton - have indicated the return of the clinical edge that characterised their play during last season's record-breaking campaign.
It was a mood reflected by Kevin de Bruyne, who has been injured for most of the first half of their campaign, against Rotherham when he showed visible dissatisfaction at being brought off after an hour, even though City were already leading by five goals.
While media reports have hinted at his anger, with de Bruyne reportedly refusing to return to the bench to watch the remainder of their FA Cup third-round 7-0 win, instead opting to head straight down the tunnel, Guardiola refused to address the speculation, claiming he "did not speak with him" over the Belgium forward's reaction.
Despite his petulance, de Bruyne remains in line to start just his second league game of the term when City take on Wolves.
Sergio Aguero and captain Vincent Kompany, who have not played since the Liverpool match, look set to return to the first XI, and Guardiola confirmed his team had a clean bill of health as "the rest (except for Benjamin Mendy) are fit".
The Spaniard also felt City could maintain their chase for honours on four fronts even though they are unlikely to reinforce by dipping into the January transfer market.
He said: "Sometimes, we have done it but, normally, when you want to buy one player, it is for the next five or six years and, normally, it doesn't happen in this window.
"The big clubs don't buy important players for six months. If you don't have injuries and are satisfied with the squad, you go with them."
Despite declaring his happiness with his players, he warned that Wolves would be no pushovers and they had no margin for error.
Recalling how Nuno Espirito Santo's men held City to a creditable 1-1 league draw earlier in the season at Molineux, he added: "They are strong physically, (at) counter-attack, set-pieces. They defend well, deep, they control many areas (through Joao) Moutinho.
"(Ruben) Neves, he can shoot from a long way. They are newly promoted and doing incredibly well."
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
MANCHESTER CITY V WOLVES
Singtel TV Ch102 & StarHub Ch227, tomorrow, 4am
Henrikh Mkhitaryan's Arsenal teammates stated their determination to win Wednesday's Europa League final against Chelsea in Baku for the absent Armenian star. Silverware matters most to Emery
Silverware matters most to Emery as Arsenal aim to win for
Football: Five games that tipped the scales in Ole Gunnar
Where Next for José Mourinho as Real Madrid Have an Itch to Scratch? London - John Duerden, Paul Wilson, Adam White, Andy Brassell, Artur Petrosyan and Sid Lowe "Sports"
Where next for José Mourinho as Real Madrid have an itch to
LONDON (AFP) - Maurizio Sarri warned his Chelsea stars to improve their mentality after Willian's sublime strike sealed a hard-fought 2-1 win over struggling Newcastle on Saturday (Jan 12).. Read
Willian gem sinks Newcastle as Chelsea cement fourth place
Johhnny Murtagh rode Motivator again in the Derby, but only after successfully appealing a three-day riding ban which would have ruled him out of the race. Motivator was a well-supported 3/1 favourite for the Derby, ahead Gypsy King at 7/2 and Dubawi at 5/1.
If you're not motivated for Spurs, there's no point in
Arsenal reached a second successive Europa League semi-final as they deservedly beat Napoli at the San Paolo Stadium to ease into the final four. Having secured a 2-0 victory in the first leg, the
Napoli 0-1 (agg 0-3) Arsenal: Unai Emery's men reach Europa
Achieve your financial goals with help from your neighborhood banking partner. Achieve your financial goals with help from your neighborhood banking partner—United Bank. We're a leading community bank in New England and have more than 55 branch locations throughout Connecticut and Massachusetts. Through a suite of first-class personal and
Paris Saint-Germain's Brazilian captain Thiago Silva has been granted French citizenship, he announced on Twitter on Friday. The 34-year-old's decision means PSG have an extra space in their squad for a non-EU player. Silva has played 274 games since joining the reigning Ligue 1 champions in 2012 and has 77 caps for Brazil.
Football: PSG captain Thiago Silva receives French citizenship
Lucas Moura, from PSG cast-off to Tottenham idol Sport > Football > C1 > Psg > Lucas Moura, from PSG cast-off to Tottenham idol By 24matins.uk with AFP, published 9 May 2019 at 0h05 BST .
Lucas Moura, from PSG cast-off to Tottenham idol - World
BHUBANESWAR: Controversy seems to be synonymous with BJD's Pipili MLA candidate and former minister Pradeep Maharathy, who was arrested on Monday for allegedly assaulting a team of election
'French Open sucks compared to Wimbledon': Kyrgios courts
Germany's teenage midfielder Giulia Gwinn scored a second-half winner as the two-time world champions edged past China 1-0 on Saturday in Rennes to kick-off their World Cup campaign. The 19-year
Giulia Gwinn scores Germany winner on Women's World Cup debut
MADRID: The wife of Spain's World Cup-winning captain Iker Casillas, Sara Carbonero, has announced that she has undergone surgery for cancer just three weeks after the goalkeeper suffered a heart attack. Casillas, who made 167 appearances for Spain and 725 for boyhood club Real Madrid before departing in 2015, fell ill during a training
After Casillas heart attack, wife says she has had cancer op
0 comments:
Post a Comment