EPL: Guardiola seeks to end record winless run

Manchester City’s form under Pep Guardiola is beginning to show similarities to their final season under his predecessor Manuel Pellegrini, with a fast start followed by an autumn stumble.
Last season, City won their opening five matches under Pellegrini, then fell away so badly that they only just secured England’s fourth and final Champions League qualification place.
Guardiola, whose team visit West Bromwich Albion in the Premier League on Saturday, would not be satisfied with a repeat performance.
Yet having won his first 10 competitive games with the club, he has gone six without victory since.


 It is the longest winless run of his managerial career, an unwanted record secured on Wednesday as his team were beaten 1-0 at Manchester United in the fourth round of the EFL Cup.
City have had some hard luck stories to tell during that run, as they should certainly have beaten Everton two weeks ago, missing two penalties in a 1-1 draw, and only took a point against Southampton last weekend despite controlling the second half.
It is also worth remembering that, for all their difficulties in recent weeks, City remain top of the Premier League and well placed to progress from the Champions League group stages.
Guardiola certainly did not field his strongest side at Old Trafford in midweek, making nine changes and fielding 19-year-olds Pablo Maffeo and Aleix Garcia in his starting line-up.
Those changes were made in the knowledge that more significant tests lie in wait, with Barcelona in Manchester for a pivotal Champions League Group C game next Tuesday.
There will be serious reasons for concern, though, if Guardiola’s lengthening wait for a victory is not ended at The Hawthorns.
“Every weekend we need to win and we need to show personality to play,” defender Maffeo said.
“We have six games in a row without a win. I think we are going to win and we go in a good way.
“Barcelona is another game. We showed on Wednesday we can compete in tough games, very hard games, and I think we can go there (to West Brom) and we are going to win.”
The manager received a piece of good news on Thursday, with captain Vincent Kompany able to train despite coming off at half-time against United on Wednesday, complaining of tiredness.
Kompany, who has suffered persistent injury problems over the last two years, was making his second start in four days at Old Trafford, and there were concerns that he may have broken down again.
Winger Kevin De Bruyne may also be fit to play some part after recovering from a calf problem.
West Brom have proved awkward opponents in recent weeks, almost rescuing a point at Liverpool last Saturday, but ultimately losing 2-1, which ended a run of three successive 1-1 draws.
Saido Berahino remains out of the team, having not started a match since September 10, and has been placed on a fitness programme after manager Tony Pulis revealed the forward was eight pounds overweight.
In Berahino’s absence, Hal Robson-Kanu has established himself as the back-up to first-choice striker Salomon Rondon, playing 25 minutes at Anfield after midfielder James McClean -– who is a doubt for this weekend -– was forced off with a gashed leg.
Robson-Kanu, deployed as a winger last Saturday, is hopeful of more chances in a team he feels can improve on their current league position of 13th.
“We’ve got all the ingredients, it’s just about applying ourselves game in, game out and picking up points,” said the 27-year-old Wales international, who scored a sensational goal for his country in their Euro 2016 quarter-final win over Belgium.
“We probably felt we could have nicked a draw at Liverpool, but it wasn’t meant to be. We move forward from that.”

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Confusion As ‘Cross Of Jesus’ Is Sighted In Nasarawa Mosque

Image
Residents of Assakio Development Area in Lafia, Nasarawa State were thrown into confusion on Saturday following the sudden appearance of a strange cross five feet away from a central mosque in the community. The mysterious sighting attracted a mammoth crowd from Assakio and its environs with many praying for forgiveness and blessings. Our correspondent observed that the illuminated cross was projected on to the ground. A 15 year-old-girl, Hajara Hussaini, in an interview with SUNDAY PUNCH, said she first sighted the sign of a cross at about 8pm on Wednesday. Hussaini, who said she had been sent on an errand by her parents, explained that when she saw a strange light, she as gripped by fear and rushed back home to alert her mother, Matan Liman. Confirming the incident to journalists, Matan said she had sent her daughter to visit her grandmother. The middle-aged woman added that her daughter saw the crucifix while returning from the errand. The Chief Imam of Assakio
Read more

Tight security as Abia council polls hold today

Image
The Commissioner of Police in Abia State, Mr. Adeleye Oyebade, has said the State Police command will provide adequate security across the seventeen local government areas of the State to ensure a smooth conduct of the local government election today. He stated that the Nigerian constitution guarantees that there must be adequate security during elections at the local councils because the people at the grassroots were involved. Oyebade who spoke during a press conference with senior Police officers in Umuahia, the State Capital, pointed out that the command had mapped out its operational plans to secure the State during and after the election. He explained that leaders of various political parties in the State have been briefed regarding the conduct of their candidates and the electorate on the election day. He said, “Every credible election must be well planned, because proper planning prevents poor performance. So those of us that are stakeholders in the State h
Read more

Investors stranded as MMM reopens

Image
Mavrodi Mondial Moneybox, a Ponzi scheme known simply as MMM, on Friday opened for business after one month of break, but investors in the scheme have remained stranded as they still cannot access their funds. MMM had announced the resumption on its Twitter handle, saying it was “now open” even though it had initially promised to reopen today, Saturday, January 14. In the message, the scheme’s founder, Sergey Mavrodi, said because of the likely deluge of requests from participants, payments would be gradual and have limits. He also said it would prioritise payments to participants with small amounts, which were not specified, and that big investors would have to wait longer. “Please, be prepared to wait for a couple of days. We are certain things will then calm down, and the system operation will return to normal. “We’re the ones setting limits, so it’s completely under our control, and we are not expecting any emergencies in principle. Have no fear and go on
Read more