The Blues head to the Liberty Stadium this evening and in amongst the pre-match chatter, Swansea manager Paul Clement has taken the opportunity to reveal his admiration for Pep.
BBC Sport carry the quotes, with Clement saying: “Guardiola for me is another example of a real pioneer.
“What he did with possession based football at Barcelona, high pressing, he’s a real leader in the new age of football - I’ve got a lot of respect for him.”
“I’ve been very interested in the way he’s done things with his teams, especially over the Barcelona years.
“What you can see in his second year at Man City is that his team are now much more like Barcelona.”
Meanwhile, after Guardiola revealed he is considering adding to his squad in January, The Telegraph claim City are looking to renew the deal of an existing talent.
is that man, with James Ducker suggesting: “Manchester City are moving closer to securing Gabriel Jesus to a new, enhanced long-term contract.
“Negotiations between City and the Brazil striker’s representatives are progressing well as the Premier League leaders and are likely to see the player extend his deal by a further two years to June 2023.”
We conclude today’s Media Watch with talk of the title race, or lack of, as far as Antonio Conte is concerned.
The Chelsea boss has admitted it will be tough for his side to claw back the deficit between themselves and City at the top of the table.
Conte was speaking after the West Londoner’s beat Huddersfield 3-1 and told Sky Sports: “It doesn’t mean we don’t want to try to catch them [City] but we have to hope they have a big, big slip and for us then to win every game in this league.
“And it is very difficult in this league. You have to put in 120 per cent otherwise you risk dropping points.
“When you tell the truth, this is the truth. We had 14 points less than Manchester City. In 16 games they won 15 and drew one. In 17 games we lost four.
“When you have a competitor like City and every game they are winning, it is very difficult to think you can fight for the title.
“We must be realistic and tell the truth.”
That’s all for today, Blues, but stay tuned to mancity.com for all the Swansea pre-match build-up.
