FA Cup English

Guardiola aware City can’t afford to drop any more points in title race

Pep Guardiola is only too well aware – and readily made the admission – that Manchester City cannot afford to drop any more points if they are to overtake leaders Arsenal in the Premier League title race.

Guardiola’s second-placed Cityzens will be trailing Arsenal by five points if the Gunners tame Everton in their game in hand on Wednesday.

Despite City having seized top spot when they won 3-1 at Arsenal recently, an unexpected 1-1 draw at Nottingham Forest gave Mikel Arteta’s team the opportunity they needed to leapfrog City to regain top spot.

Last season’s champions thoroughly scrubbed Bournemouth 4-1 on Saturday to preserve their chances of staying in the hunt only hours after Arsenal’s narrow 1-0 away win over Leicester.

Guardiola, of all people, is fully savvy that they have no margin for error for City to spring any surprises from behind in their bid to win a fifth title in six seasons.

“I have the feeling in the Premier League many things are going to happen. Everyone is going to drop points but we cannot drop any if we are going to fight until the end,” Guardiola told reporters on Monday.

Guardiola’s gladiators head to second-tier Bristol City in the FA Cup fifth round on Tuesday before refocusing on their title defence with a potentially sticky match against Newcastle on Saturday.

For what it’s worth, the inconsistency gnawing away at City for much of this season has been most unusual and disconcerting, which has given Arsenal the opportunity to take pole position.

Yet, despite the glitches, an unflappable Guardiola insists City are still competing to the standard expected by him of his players, regardless of their occasional fumbles.

“The game we are playing is good. The results could be better – in terms of winning at Spurs or Nottingham – but sometimes that happens,” he said.

“Of course it’s not exceptional, it’s OK, it’s good, but I don’t have complaints with the way we are playing and fighting.

“I said after the last game against Bournemouth that the mood in the locker room is exceptional and the guys are doing everything, and that’s enough for me.”

It is also interesting to note that Bristol City have not lost since Boxing Day and Guardiola has absolutely no intention of taking their coastal rivals for granted as he knows Nigel Pearson’s side will be seeking to stage an FA Cup upset.

“Last 12 games no defeat, that gives me a lot of info. It means they are there,” he said.

“My scouts say they are good team, the manager has a lot of experience. He did really well at Leicester and Watford.

“The FA Cup is an important competition, really important. It’s a serious team that is going to play tomorrow.”