Pep Guardiola has been amazed by Manchester City's "quite remarkable" run of form but is eager to see his side perform again at Burnley.
City have taken top spot in the Premier League after a stunning 12-match winning sequence in all competitions.
Guardiola's side have a three-point advantage over rivals Manchester United with a game in hand still to play.
The manager has been full of praise for his players but, ahead of visiting Burnley on Wednesday, was keen to reiterate they had merely "finished the first leg."
"Not just January, from the middle of December we know how tough it is," Guardiola said.
"Everyone is at home in lockdown, we cannot express ourselves, go out to restaurants like everyone else in the world.
"To achieve this is quite remarkable, more than any other period from our lives, so that is why I didn't expect it.
"I said to the players in the meeting: we've finished the first leg, congratulations, it's remarkable what you've done all of you and now keep going.
"Now go home and rest and (prepare for) Burnley."
City represent daunting opponents for Burnley, who were outclassed by Chelsea at the weekend.
Reflecting on the Stamford Bridge defeat, Sean Dyche said: "Sometimes you forget there is a vast gap of millions of pounds when you look at the two teams on a piece of paper, and that does pay you back eventually over a season.
"Not always, of course, because we have just shown at Liverpool that we can compete in our own style.
"But it's very difficult when these teams turn up; that's the difference."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Burnley - Nick Pope
England goalkeeper Pope will have to play well if Burnley are to get a result. Fortunately for the Clarets, he often has done this season. Only West Brom's Sam Johnstone (85) has made more Premier League saves than Pope's 80. The Burnley man has averaged 4.2 saves per game - his highest such rate in a single top-flight campaign.
Manchester City - Gabriel Jesus
City will hope Jesus can enjoy a sustained run of form after scoring his first league goal since November against Sheffield United last time out. City have never lost when Jesus has scored in the league (37 games). Only Carlos Tevez - also for City (39) - has netted in more matches for a single side in the competition without losing.
KEY OPTA FACTS
- Burnley are winless in nine Premier League meetings with Manchester City (D1 L8) since a 1-0 home win in March 2015. The Clarets have conceded more Premier League goals against City than they have versus any other side (39).
- City have won their past seven meetings with Burnley in all competitions by an aggregate score of 28-1, including 5-0 (Premier League) and 3-0 (EFL Cup) victories against the Clarets this season.
- Burnley have won four of their past six home league games (D1 L1), as many as they had in their previous 16 at Turf Moor (D4 L8).
- City are looking to become the first Premier League side since Arsenal between March and August 2002 to win 13 consecutive matches in all competitions.
- City are looking to win seven consecutive away matches in all competitions for only the second time in their history, with their other run coming under Guardiola between May and November 2017 (11 in a row).
Author
Hi, Its me Hafeez. A webdesigner, blogspot developer and UI/UX Designer. I am a certified Themeforest top Author and Front-End Developer. I'am business speaker, marketer, Blogger and Javascript Programmer.
0 Comments:
Post a Comment