Pep Guardiola has said the question of whether Tottenham Hotspur might not want to beat Manchester City tomorrow would “offend” the team and their manager.
Man City will find themselves back at the top of the Premier League, and one step closer to winning the title for a fourth season in a row, if they beat fifth-place Spurs at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Tuesday night.
But if Spurs win – or hold City to a draw – their north London rivals Arsenal will be in with a better shot at winning the league for the first time in more than two decades.
When asked if he’s ever known a team not want to win a match, Guardiola told Sky News presenter Jacquie Beltrao: “I’ll give you some advice – don’t ask this question to Ange [Postecoglou] and his players, don’t do it.
“Don’t do it because they will be offended.”
His comment comes after Postecoglou insisted Spurs won’t “roll out the red carpet” for City, even though a win for his team would leave Arsenal at the top of the table.
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“We’ve got a game of football to win and that’s what we’ll try to do,” he said. “Man City haven’t won it yet and if you think they have, then it becomes an issue because we’re rolling out a red carpet for them and I’m not going to do that.
“I’m not just going to sit there and watch them win. That doesn’t sit comfortably with me.”
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City have so far never won a Premier League game at Tottenham’s new stadium, which they moved into in 2019.
Man City and Arsenal will both play their final games of the season on Sunday 19 May.
City will face ninth-place West Ham at the Etihad Stadium as Arsenal play fifteenth-place Everton at the Emirates.
See Jacquie Beltrao’s full interview with Pep Guardiola on Sky News tomorrow morning.
