Who: Manchester City vs Tottenham Hotspur
What: English Premier League football
Where: Etihad Stadium, Manchester, United Kingdom
When: 5:30pm (17:30 GMT) on Saturday
How to follow: Al Jazeera Sport will have all the build-up and full text commentary of the game
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola says he would stay to the end of his contract with the Premier League champions even if they were relegated, a day after he signed a two-year extension that will keep him at the club until 2027.
Guardiola, who joined City in 2016, has won 18 trophies with the club, including six Premier League titles and their first Champions League.
City are embroiled in a hearing over alleged breaches of the league’s financial fair play rules, however, which could potentially see them face points deductions, a fine and relegation if found guilty. Guardiola has always defended City, saying he trusts the owners, and the Spaniard said relegation would not cause him to leave the club.
“I said six months ago when all the clubs accused us to have done something wrong, what happened if we are relegated – I will be here,” Guardiola told reporters before Saturday’s home game against Tottenham Hotspur. “Next year, if we are in the conference, we will come up to the Premier League. I knew it then. I feel it now.”
Guardiola said he had agreed a new deal in “just two hours”, and when asked why he signed a two-year extension, he joked, saying it was because he liked the Manchester weather. “It’s a good question. I don’t want next season – in September, October, November – ‘It’s the last year of Pep.’ I don’t want to be in that position,” he added.
“I would like to stay for two years, but I know if the results are not good, it will not be two years.”
Guardiola lost four matches in a row for the first time in his managerial career before the international break, but he brushed it aside, saying City are also the only club to win four league titles in a row.
“When you are here eight or nine years, you live all the scenarios and situations. You are able to lose four games in a row. At the same time, you are able to win four Premier Leagues in a row,” he said. “The difference is most teams are able to lose four in a row in different competitions, but just one team won four Premier Leagues in a row. Both sides of the coin can happen.”
But with Ballon d’Or winner Rodri sidelined for potentially the rest of the season, Guardiola was dealt another blow when Croatian midfielder Mateo Kovacic suffered an injury on international duty. “It will be a while, three weeks or a month, more or less,” Guardiola said.
Tottenham’s inconsistency has left them 10th in the standings, but manager Ange Postecoglou is paying little attention to their poor form and spoke in glowing terms about Guardiola, whom he got the better of in a League Cup victory this month.
“He’s fantastic for the Premier League. He keeps setting the standard, which is great for all of us trying to mow him down,” the Greek-Australian told reporters.
“It’s not easy to win in different countries, and I know that he’s been at big clubs, but as we’ve seen recently, that’s not necessarily transferable to winning things all the time. You’ve still got to do it.
“So he’s maintained a ridiculous level of excellence. The way his team plays, they’re always sort of challenging every opponent they face, and I guess his energy to maintain that for so long – it’s been outstanding.
“He’ll go down as one of the greats already, and the indication that he’s re-signed means there’s more to come.”
Manchester City team news
Ruben Dias remains sidelined while fellow defenders John Stones and Manuel Akanji have resumed training. Nathan Ake is also set to return to training to boost the beleaguered backline.
Tottenham Hotspur team news
Spurs have several players missing, including both their regular centre halves after Postecoglou confirmed that Cristian Romero would not be available along with Micky van de Ven.
Uruguayan Rodrigo Bentancur will also be absent, having been hit with a seven-match ban by the Football Association for making a derogatory remark about teammate Son Heung-min. Tottenham have appealed the length of the ban.
Head-to-head
Manchester City have edged the 172 meetings so far with 68 victories to Tottenham’s 67.
Spurs have a remarkably good recent record, winning four of the last eight encounters. Their first meeting was in the FA Cup in 1909 with the away team winning 4-3 in Manchester.
