Pep Guardiola believes his Manchester Metropolis gamers are thriving beneath the stress of the title run-in.
Metropolis loved an excellent weekend of their quest for a fourth successive Premier League crown as an emphatic victory over Luton, coupled with defeats for rivals Liverpool and Arsenal, put them high of the desk.
Guardiola’s facet at the moment are not solely clear favourites to retain their title however in a robust place to safe an unprecedented second treble in succession.
“They prefer to play the stress,” mentioned Metropolis supervisor Guardiola, talking after Saturday’s 5-1 hammering of the Hatters. “They prefer it if you find yourself lifeless or alive.
“That doesn’t imply we’re going to do it however I’m fairly certain we shall be there till the top as a result of I do know them, I see their faces within the conferences earlier than video games and the way they put together.
“Which means we’ll be Premier League champions? No, no. I’m not saying that. However we are going to compete, that’s for certain.”
Metropolis now head into two decisive knockout video games in opposition to Actual Madrid within the Champions League and Chelsea within the FA Cup over the approaching week in good coronary heart.
Actual are the primary up on the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday for the second leg of a quarter-final tie that’s evenly poised at 3-3 after a pulsating sport within the Spanish capital final week.
Full-back Kyle Walker, who has missed the final 5 video games with a hamstring harm sustained on worldwide responsibility final month, may return after being an unused substitute in opposition to Luton.
Guardiola mentioned: “He feels a lot better however he was injured, so now we are going to see within the subsequent days. However he’s good, he feels good.
“Perhaps he can assist with minutes as a result of it’s a ‘remaining’ however I don’t need to lose him for a very long time if he will get injured. He’ll practice a bit extra now and we are going to determine.
“I understand how vital Kyle is in opposition to the gamers from Actual Madrid however he was not in Madrid and Manu (Akanji), Josko (Gvardiol), John (Stones) and Ruben (Dias) performed extremely nicely. We’ll see.”
Fellow defender Stones needs to be match regardless of being neglected of the squad altogether on Saturday as a precaution.
Guardiola mentioned: “He had some issues, some niggles, however he’s advantageous.
“He isn’t injured however he felt uncomfortable and we didn’t need to take dangers. That’s all.”