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"All votes must be counted": Guardiola compares title race to presidency

Much like the rest of us, Pep Guardiola seems to have spent much of the last week tracking the co...



Soccer

"All votes must be counted": Guardiola compares title race to presidency

Much like the rest of us, Pep Guardiola seems to have spent much of the last week tracking the colour changes on the 'magic wall'.

And much like Joe Biden, Pep Guardiola will be looking to flip the dominant colour of the Premier League from red to blue.

Manchester City play host to Premier League champions Liverpool, in the latest instalment of the most keenly contested scrap in recent years.

City go into Sunday's game five-points off the pace of Jurgen Klopp's side, albeit with a game fewer played.

While not delving into batshit conspiracy theories like the incumbent in the White House, Guardiola isn't too perturbed by the distance between his side and the champions.

"It's an important game, but like the Presidential election in America all the votes must be counted," the City manager said, "There's a long way to go."

"Of course it is important but it is just the seventh game and there are a lot of points to play.

"We know we have to do a good performance to beat them, we won and lost in the past. We are going to do our best to beat them.

"It’s always nice to play against the strongest teams and last year they were stronger. They are an exceptional team, they have had the same manager for a long time and it is nice to face him all the time to improve our level."

Liverpool will arrive at Eastlands with their mojo restored after a wobbly start to the season.

Recent signing Diogo Jota's hit the ground running, and scored a hat-trick in the midweek win away to Atalanta in the Champions League.

However, Guardiola sees fallibility in the champions and league leaders, "They are the biggest favourite but with the pandemic the situation is a bit different.

"I see other teams strong, Leicester maintained the level from most of last season, Arsenal made a big step forward to be contenders and Tottenham Mourinho has the team what he wants.

"Chelsea, in the beginning, is so stable now and has a huge squad for rotating top players. United in this moment is not in terms of results but we saw the quality they had last season, we suffered a lot in results and up front they are incredibly fast and clinical.

"I think this season will be a lot of teams being there the last 5-10 games will be important to arrive being there to fight for the title. Hopefully we can be there and arrive at the end with a chance to fight for the title."

Red vs Blue and how Man City and Liverpool became rivals

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