Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has expressed his relief because he was not in the position of Manchester United nine places under his side in the Premier League.
The Cityzens are in the fifth and last Champions League qualifying place before he visits Everton on Saturday (15:00 BST), while United is 17 points back – the same number of points as the Ruben Amorim team above the relegation zone.
“We can be in a whole, very bad [much] lower position than we are in the Premier League [when] You have done a few of the things we have done over the past four or five months, ”Guardiola, who supervised nine defeats in 19 league games between November and March, reflected with six losses in eight games.
“We could be 11th, 12th, 13th or 14th. I have not doubted that. I assume it ‘okay, [we’ve] not been good ‘, but [qualification is] In our hands. “
“We could be in a much lower position in the Premier League … we can be 12 or 13th or 14th!” 😳🤐
Pep Guardiola thinks that his husband of the man in the competition can struggle as much as man United and spurs are👀😅 pic.twitter.com/txew5rfm1o
– Hayters TV (@Hayterstv) April 18, 2025
Guardiola: Champions League Games ‘Nice’
Guardiola said he had ‘enjoyed’ the Champions League quart finale second legs of this week and called them ‘really, really nice games’.
With City eliminated in the play-offs of the League phase, the Spaniard Paris Saint-Germain saw in Aston Villa in a match that he found “fantastic”, while the four-fold winner of the competition as a player and coach also described Barcelona’s progress in Borussia Dortmund “.
“I miss it of course,” he added. “This is sport – sometimes you do not perform well and you do not earn to be [there]. “
Will Man City be in Champions League?
City has always been present in the Champions League since 2011/12, but their prospects to expand that record are in the balance, with Chelsea and Villa an end behind them with six more competition matches.
“Hopefully we can be there next season and better challenge the big clubs in Europe than we have done this season,” said Guardiola, who had seen the involvement of City in 2024/25 with a 6-3 total defeat against Real Madrid.
“It’s a motivation. It’s not a bad thing to fight to qualify for the Champions League. They are just six games – we don’t have much time.”
Pep 💬 Phil [Foden] Came back on Thursday and the training session of today since the campaign at Old Trafford.
Manu [Akanji]Yes, [he’s had] Two or three training sessions with us. I see him really good. pic.twitter.com/qie7no579z
– Manchester City (@Mancity) April 18, 2025
Man City injuries vs Everton
Guardiola said that midfielder Phil Foden “was moving well” in training after collecting a knock in the 5-2 comeback home victory of City on Crystal Palace last Saturday.
Ederson is out with an injury that was sustained during that game and Guardiola does not know when the goalkeeper will return to the position.
Midfielder Rodri stays out, while defenders John Stones and Nathan Ake “get better” but “not yet” ready, according to their manager.
Top scorer Erling Haaland has to resume training after a foot injury. Guardiola said that the return of the striker will not be in “the next games”.
Pep Guardiola says that goalkeeper Niererson will miss the game of tomorrow in Everton and Erling Haaland will not end with an ankle injury 🚨 pic.twitter.com/b0cqjol2tl
– Sky Sports News (@SkySportsnews) April 18, 2025
Everton vs Man City
Everton recorded one of the best results of their campaign last Saturday and won 1-0 in Nottingham Forest, who are two points above the city.
The only defeat of the Toffees in their last 12 league games was in leaders Liverpool, although five of their last seven Peters are.
Everton did not win the match in their last 16 attempts, but Haaland is the only player who has gone away for City in the competition since their victory in the doomed Ipswich Town on January 19.
Egypt Marmoush is waiting for his first league-way goal, but has four goals and an assist in his last five performances and hit the winner in Bournemouth in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup.
Pep 💬 Goodison Park is so special, such as old traditional stadiums in England from the past.
[You] Go to Fulham, Villa Park, you feel the special atmosphere. [It’s a] A nice place to go, a difficult of course but fun. pic.twitter.com/ohkpyvkptv
– Manchester City (@Mancity) April 18, 2025
Goodison Park ‘Difficult’ for Manchester City
City will visit the Goodison Park of Everton for the last time before their opponents move to their new stadium in Bramley-Moore Dock.
‘[It] Is so special, like many of the old traditional stadiums in England from the past, “Guardiola said since 1892 about Everton’s house.
“Go to Fulham, Villa Park – you feel the special atmosphere. It is a nice place to go – difficult, but fun. The clubs are growing and I am pretty sure that the new stadium will be more comfortable.”
