Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has lavished praise on Chelsea, claiming that the Blues showed ‘huge personality’ in their 3-1 win against Crystal Palace on Monday (February 12).
The west Londoners dug deep and scored two goals in stoppage time, with the game level at 1-1. Before that, they put on an impressive display, defeating Aston Villa 3-1 in the fourth round of the FA Cup on February 7.
Mauricio Pochettino’s side will now come up against Guardiola’s mighty Manchester City on Saturday (February 17). Speaking ahead of the clash, the Cityzens’ boss said (via The Chelsea Chronicle):
“It’s one game at a time. Now it is Chelsea. They played really well against Aston Villa and yesterday, in the hotel, we watched the game against Crystal Palace. They played with huge personality. Now we recover and focus on the Blues.”
Manchester City are involved in a title race, currently level on points with Arsenal and two behind leaders Liverpool. However, the Cityzens have a game in hand on both title rivals and will be looking to keep their brilliant run in the league going.
Guardiola’s side have won their last six fixtures in the English top-flight, while the Blues have emerged victorious in just one of their last three league matches.
Going into this tie, Pochettino’s men are 10th in the standings, 13 points behind fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur.
Pep Guardiola gutted over the loss of star player ahead of Chelsea clash
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has confirmed that winger Jack Grealish will be missing his side’s Premier League meeting against Chelsea on Saturday (February 17).
The former Aston Villa attacker started his side’s 3-1 Champions League win against Copenhagen on Tuesday (February 13) but was forced off after just 21 minutes.
Addressing Grealish’s groin issue, Guardiola told TNT Sports (via Metro):
“Looks like a muscular [injury] for Jack Grealish. It is a pity. He helped us to play at the right tempo. He felt it when he rolled on the grass. They know.
“[Jack] will have a test tomorrow. He will be [ruled] out, yeah. It’s a pity because in the last few days his mood in training sessions has been much, much better and he has played really good.”
The England international has had to compete with Jeremy Doku for minutes on the left flank this season. He’s made 14 Premier League appearances, bagging three goals and an assist.
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