After recovering from a stumble in the derby against United, Manchester City are preparing for an important week: on Tuesday they will advance to the rematch against Borussia Mönchengladbach in the Champions League, but even before that they can face tonight (Saturday, 22:00) in Craven Cottage against Fulham. City will come into the game with a 14-point gap (but also with more play) over the Red Devils, and will try to increase it a bit more to come calm to the Champions League.
Pep Guardiola took advantage of the press conference – precisely to cheer for colleagues, and specifically for a manager to meet on the other side. The young Scott Parker may be below the red line, but he impressed one of the best managers on the continent. “From day one, Fulham have been playing excellent football under him. There are excellent coaches in England like Scott at Fulham, or Graham Potter at Brighton. Many of them have the courage to play. This is my fifth season in England, and I have never seen the bottom teams with such quality.”
“I have the feeling that the new generation of coaches has this quality. In Germany and Spain, all coaches try to play like Bayern Munich. Sometimes you can not do that. You know you may lose a lot of games, but sometimes you will also be able to draw and even win what. “In the end, viewers will enjoy more, advertising revenue will go up, ratings will be higher. The new managers are trying to take the initiative, instead of waiting for the opponent.”
According to estimates in the British media, Guardiola plans to make a number of changes to the Citizens’ squad: Phil Foden, Fernandinho, Bernando Silva, Alexander Zinchenko and Aimark Laporte will take the bench, replacing John Stones, Rodry, Raho Cralens, Giovelli Sterling, Giovelli Sterling, Zhou ‘Horse, perhaps as a general comeback ahead of the game that is supposed to secure City a place in the Champions League quarter-finals.
