After the spectacular 2-1 victory over Liverpool in the previous round and Arsenal's late start in round 26, Man City has the opportunity to narrow the gap with the Premier League leader to 3 points if they beat Fulham at home.
However, for coach Pep Guardiola, instead of being distracted by the potential point gap at the top of the table, he believes that the focus of the players must be on stability and ensuring to overcome the difficult opponent Fulham.
According to this strategist, the important thing is that Man City must play well throughout the match, not just one half. In matches against Tottenham or Liverpool, they played well in this half but played poorly in the remaining half. That is not to be seen. If they do not change soon, there is no guarantee that Man City will win against opponents they will meet soon such as Fulham, Newcastle or Leeds United.
“I understand numbers like nine points, three points, or something like that. That's okay, but that doesn't mean you win the championship or get into the final rounds to win, or have a chance to compete for the title.
Every time last month and in recent weeks, when I participated in quick interviews before the matches, everyone said that if I lost, I would lose everything and would disappear from Earth, something like that.
Fulham is getting stronger season by season, thanks to positive changes. For example, when I watched their match against Man United, although they lost in the last minute by Sesko's goal, I saw they were really very strong.
They possess a quality, calm and technical playing style. Their defensive and attacking skills are also excellent. Marco Silva is one of the top coaches I have ever faced.
Although we achieved quite good results because we have many top players, Marco Silva is a top coach and will definitely become one of the best in the next few years," Guardiola said.
In the first leg, Man City once led Fulham 5-1 away from home. But in a crazy match, they let the opponent narrow the score to 4-5 and almost got equalized. With what he has shown, Guardiola does not doubt Man City will have a difficult match when facing Fulham again.
Regarding the home team's force, Guardiola emphasized that center-back Khusanov is ready to play for Fulham, after being injured in the previous round. "Khusanov is extremely fast. The ability to regain his position is one of his strengths. But not only that, don't confuse about Khusa, he is very intelligent," Guardiola emphasized.
In addition, center-back John Stones is also making efforts to return to play. In general, Man City has no new injuries except for Doku and Gvardiol.
The Man City vs Fulham match will take place at 2:30 AM on February 12.
