Pep Guardiola, manager of Manchester City, has firmly stated that Liverpool should not be discounted in the Premier League title race, despite their recent poor run of domestic form.Speaking at his pre-match press conference, Guardiola pushed back on suggestions that his own side, Manchester City, might be “flying under the radar,” instead using the opportunity to back Liverpool’s title credentials against current leaders Arsenal.
Guardiola pointed to the rush of early-season punditry:
“Well, in the first two games, three games, yeah for sure we [City] are out. And Liverpool is already done, and now it looks like Liverpool is done. And I’ll tell you that they will be back.”The former Barcelona coach was dismissive of quick judgments, saying: “I’ve said many times, I know all the pundits, all the specialists or former players, they know everything that is going to happen after five games. I’m not able to do that. So, I always wait for 10, 15 games to know exactly what is going on.”Guardiola concluded that both Liverpool and Arsenal are clearly in the running: “But I think obviously Liverpool and Arsenal are there, someone else will be there, and hopefully we can be there.”
Liverpool, who were defeated in their previous three Premier League games before this weekend, showed a return to form by thumping Eintracht Frankfurt 5-1 in the Champions League on Wednesday.Going into this weekend’s matches, Liverpool sat four points behind leaders Arsenal, while Manchester City were only three points back from the Gunners.
This weekend sees Arsenal take on Crystal Palace, Liverpool face Brentford, and Manchester United play Aston Villa on Sunday.