Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola on the tough challenge of Chelsea, Grealish out and other injuries and Cole Palmer's form for Saturday's opponents
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00:00 Good afternoon, guys, hope you're well.
00:06 Same for seven, maximum either side,
00:08 if you can reach out and talk to us,
00:09 maybe you'd like to ask a question.
00:10 We'll set an embargo part way through for 10 minutes this evening.
00:13 That one now, please.
00:14 Good afternoon, Pep.
00:17 It's been a good week with two good victories.
00:19 The next challenge is Chelsea, an improving Chelsea.
00:23 What are their strengths and what challenges do they bring to the Etihad tomorrow evening?
00:27 It's an exceptional team.
00:30 Exceptional in all departments.
00:32 One of the toughest games we have until the end of the season.
00:36 It's been tough for Maurizio Pochettino,
00:40 but you can see the last couple of weeks they have improved a lot.
00:45 It's a tough job down there, isn't it?
00:47 He's playing really good, the last games he's played really, really good.
00:55 They have everything, the intensity and the quality.
00:59 Most of the team is defined if they are able to not lose the balls,
01:03 and it's difficult to find a player who can lose the balls.
01:06 They're a really good team, a tough one tomorrow.
01:09 In terms of the injuries, can you give us an update on Bernardo Silva, Jack Grealish,
01:15 and are there any other injury worries for you?
01:18 Jack, I think he will not be ready,
01:21 and Bernardo will assess now in the training session about his knock.
01:25 Kovacic I think is back, or training at least, and Sergio as well,
01:30 and the rest we'll see. We'll see now when they arrive.
01:33 Hi, Pep. Can I ask you about Cole Palmer?
01:42 Obviously he's scored 10 Premier League goals so far this season.
01:45 I just wonder, in the summer when you were considering his future,
01:49 did you feel he was ready to make that big step into becoming such a consistent Premier League player?
01:55 If he could play regularly like he's happened, yes.
01:58 I didn't have any doubts about his quality.
02:01 Apart from the stats, the way he's playing is a star player.
02:09 He's already an exceptional player.
02:13 He travelled, he moved on, took on the minutes that he had,
02:18 it was just a question of time and he showed his immense quality.
02:22 Can you be happy for an academy player that goes on to another team?
02:26 Of course.
02:27 There's no regret?
02:28 Lovely lad, and he helped us to achieve what we achieved. Absolutely not.
02:32 Can I ask you about your rivalry with Mauricio Pochettino as well?
02:36 It's a rivalry that goes back to your playing days and managers as well,
02:40 you faced each other a lot. How would you describe your rivalry?
02:43 I know you speak about Jürgen Klopp as being your greatest rival,
02:46 but what about Mauricio?
02:47 I have a lot of respect.
02:48 Hi Pep, you've been in lots of two-team title races,
03:03 Real Madrid, Barcelona, the famous ones here with Liverpool.
03:06 It looks like it might be three teams this year,
03:09 with Arsenal, Liverpool and yourselves.
03:11 Have you ever been in a three-team title race before?
03:14 If so, how does that change the dynamic?
03:17 It's winning our games.
03:19 When we arrived the last eight or ten games,
03:22 we'll see how many teams are involved.
03:25 I think these three will be there, but again,
03:28 it's not one, so the distance between the four or the fifth is so small.
03:34 We'll see at the end, but this question doesn't matter if it's two, three or four.
03:39 If we are there, it's just to win our games.
03:42 Do you think it makes it easier for you to concentrate on your own games
03:45 because there are more teams involved?
03:48 You have to know what's before, it doesn't matter if you're alone with two or three or four,
03:52 you have to win our games, do our job, the rest doesn't count.
03:56 European football back this week, of course.
03:59 Arsenal haven't been in the Champions League for a while,
04:02 Liverpool in the Europa League will be playing on Thursday nights.
04:05 You have the experience of balancing the Premier League with European football,
04:09 do you think that could be an advantage for you over the next few months?
04:13 I don't know, I think Liverpool are not going to play on Thursday.
04:18 They've qualified first, and that's why they don't play this round on Thursday.
04:23 But of course the teams that we have in the European competitions
04:28 have more games than the other ones,
04:30 but we prefer to be there than to play in the European competitions, no complaints at all.
04:36 Hi Pep, just on Jack, have you been able to have a proper assessment of him yet?
04:41 How serious is his problem?
04:43 I don't know, did you speak with the doctors? I only know he's not able for tomorrow.
04:48 No more? OK.
04:51 >> Set the embargo.