Man City is 2 points behind Arsenal in the Premier League table. They have a chance to temporarily rise to the top of the table if they defeat Nottingham Forest away from home, in the match taking place at 7:30 PM on December 27. In the UEFA Champions League, coach Guardiola's team still has a chance to enter the Top 8 after the group stage, thereby winning a straight ticket to the round of 16.
Sharing before the match against Forest, Guardiola emphasized that Man City prefers to lead the Premier League to chasing their opponent. “Actually, the best position is to top the rankings, but Man City has not yet achieved that.
I want to lead the teams by 10 points, that's all. Arsenal is playing very well, but we have opportunities in the Premier League, Champions League. With some of our important players returning, let's see what will happen.
Guardiola emphasized that midfielder Rodri, who has not played for the team since November due to a hamstring injury, may play against Forest. Meanwhile, Jeremy Doku and John Stones are injured but will soon return to play.
Man City is a team with abundant forces and is always famous for accelerating at the right time to win the Premier League in recent years. Compared to rival Arsenal, Man City is in better form at this time. With the gap between the two teams being very small, there are still many opportunities for Man City to usurp the opponent's throne.
To do that, Man City must first aim for victory against Forest, the team currently ranked 17th in the league table. Last season, Haaland and his teammates lost 0-1 at Forest's City Ground.
Last season, especially under Nuno Espirito Santo, Forest did amazing things and even before that, visiting here always brought many difficulties. Forest is a team that has invested a lot in recent years. They are really a very, very strong team," Guardiola warned his opponent.
