Pep Guardiola's reaction to Man City hitting top spot in the Premier League should worry title rivals

straight to your inboxPep Guardiola has no fresh injury concerns ahead of Manchester City's FA Cup tie at Swansea. Sergio Aguero played some part in a training session on Monday for the first time in a month after his recent Covid-related absences but is still not close enough to a return for the manager to be able to give a date on when he might be back with the first team.

straight to your inboxPep Guardiola will send his Manchester City team into battle at Anfield seeking the win he feels could deliver a serious blow to defending champions Liverpool.The Blues boss, normally so cautious in looking ahead, admitted it would be an “important” step in the pursuit of the Premier League title if they could open up a ten-point gap to reigning champions Liverpool.City have not won on the red side of Merseyside since 2003, and Anfield remains the only Premier League

straight to your inboxJamie Carragher says Ruben Dias should become the seventh centre-back to be named PFA Player of the Year.The Manchester City defender has been a rock in defence since joining from Benfica in the summer, keeping eight clean sheets in his last nine Premier League matches to help Pep Guardiola's side to the top of the Premier League table.Dias has also formed a solid partnership with a rejuvenated John Stones and Carragher paid tribute to the way the former Everton defender

straight to your inboxPep Guardiola believes there is "a lot" of room for improvement in this Manchester City team despite them sitting clear at the top of the Premier League table. A comfortable 2-0 win over Burnley thanks to first-half goals from Raheem Sterling and Ilkay Gundogan leaves the Blues three points ahead of nearest rivals United with a game in hand and continued their superb winning streak that now sits at nine in the league and 13 in all competitions.

straight to your inboxManchester City will have to try to win the Premier League without a prolific goalscorer this season, Pep Guardiola has come to accept.Sergio Aguero has suffered a number of setbacks in his attempts to return from a knee problem that kept him out of the beginning of the campaign, while Gabriel Jesus has just three league goals to his name after another frustrating season.

straight to your inboxPep Guardiola has admitted that Manchester City star Bernardo Silva 'struggled' in the aftermath of his ban last season over an offensive tweet.Bernardo was suspended for one game in November, 2019, after he compared teammate Benjamin Mendy to a character on a packet of Conguitos chocolates in a social media post.

straight to your inboxPep Guardiola will remind Manchester City players of the need to play to the whistle after they benefited from West Brom failing to do so themselves. With the Blues already 1-0 up, a number of West Brom players stopped when they saw an offside flag for Bernardo Silva, only for Joao Cancelo to put the ball in the net and the original decision be overturned on replays.

straight to your inboxPep Guardiola suggested Eric Garcia could leave Manchester City this month after resigning himself to losing the centre-back.Garcia stunned his club last summer when he informed them that he no longer saw a future for himself at the Etihad and wished instead to return to former club Barcelona.

straight to your inboxPep Guardiola felt that Manchester City needed more quality in the final third as they trailed Cheltenham Town in the FA Cup. The Blues were staring at the biggest upset of the manager's five years at the club when Alfie May stabbed home from a Ben Tozer long throw on the hour-mark, leading to first-team regulars Ruben Dias, Ilkay Gundogan and Joao Cancelo all being brought off the bench for the closing moments.

straight to your inboxPep Guardiola has challenged his Manchester City players to find another irreplaceable quality to make up for losing Kevin De Bruyne.City's talented playmaker could be missing for up to six weeks with the hamstring injury he picked up against Aston Villa in midweek in what has been the biggest setback to their season since the major Covid outbreak in the squad last month.However, the Blues found a way to win without him on Wednesday and are in excellent form in the Premier

straight to your inboxPep Guardiola was left hoping on Wednesday night that the injuries that forced Kyle Walker and Kevin De Bruyne off against Aston Villa will not be too serious.Manchester City continued their good form, winning their sixth straight league game and ninth in all competitions to reach the Premier League summit for the first time this season thanks to late goals from Bernardo Silva and Ilkay Gundogan.However, they had to make do without two of their starting XI for long spells.

straight to your inbox Pep Guardiola has warned John Stones that he needs to continue revamping his football career – and his life – to be a Manchester City success. Stones looked like he was heading out of the Etihad Stadium exit door last summer, when midfielder Fernandinho was being chosen ahead of him, and his personal life was impacting on his game.

direct to your inboxPep Guardiola called upon an answer he has used before when asked how he will spend his 50th birthday today.The Manchester City boss saw his side produce a professional performance mixed with moments of individual quality on Saturday to beat Crystal Palace 4-0 and move up to second in the Premier League with a game in hand over leaders Manchester United.United had earlier drawn 0-0 with Liverpool, allowing City to move above Liverpool and to within two points of United with a

straight to your inboxPep Guardiola could not rule out a January transfer for Eric Garcia but hopes that Manchester City will be able to keep hold of the player. Garcia stunned the Blues last year when he opted not to extend his contract at the Etihad and decided that he wanted to return to Barcelona.

straight to your inboxPep Guardiola queried how effective the new protocols for Covid-19 can be in preventing contact on the pitch after Manchester City's FA Cup win over Birmingham. With more regular testing introduced recently across clubs following outbreaks including Newcastle, City, and Fulham, the PFA this week reminded all players not to celebrate with teammates at goals or swap shirts at the end of games in a bid to reduce contact and keep infection rates down.

straight to your inboxPep Guardiola is not sure when he will be able to call on Sergio Aguero with the Manchester City striker isolating after coming into contact with someone who has tested positive for Covid-19.

straight to your inboxPep Guardiola asked his Manchester City side for the same level of intensity in the second half of their Carabao Cup semi-final win over Manchester United to book their place in a fourth successive final.City and United had exchanged blows in the opening 45 minutes, with both sides having goals ruled out for offside and both goalkeepers making superb saves.