Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola claims Premier League title, not Champions League, is his priority
City return to Premier League action on Thursday night against Arsenal
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Your support makes all the difference.Pep Guardiola has claimed that the Premier League remains “by far” the most important competition of Manchester City’s season as they enter the final stretch of their league campaign.
City can re-establish a 16-point lead at the top of the table on Thursday when they play Arsenal, who they dominated in Sunday’s EFL Cup final to win 3-0 and lift their first piece of silverware this season.
Barring a spectacular collapse, Guardiola’s side are likely to be crowned champions in April having sat at the summit since September and will confident of victory at the Emirates having beaten their opponents just four days earlier.
The City manager will not accept any signs of complacency from his players though and, speaking ahead of Thursday’s trip to north London, he reminded them that the league title is the priority this year.
“The fact is we are fighting for the most important title of the season by far,” Guardiola said.
“The Premier League – more than Champions League, more than FA Cup, more than Carabao Cup – is enough argument to be focused and to stay focused because our next six fixtures are terrible in terms of the quality of the opponents.”
After meeting Arsenal on Thursday, City entertain defending champions Chelsea at the Etihad. A trip to relegation-threatened Stoke City follows, with trips to Everton and Tottenham Hotspur, plus the Manchester derby to come.
“We have four games away and of course we are in a good position but it is not done,” Guardiola added.
“We have still to win six games and when you think about Arsenal, Chelsea, Tottenham, Manchester United and our away games like Stoke, who are playing to avoid relegation.
“We are also going to Goodison Park [to face Everton], which statistically is always a tough game. We still have a lot of tough games to play.”
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