Pep Guardiola has urged his Manchester City side to ‘prioritise’ Sunday’s Premier League trip to Everton after stating that Arsenal will “definitely” win all of their remaining league fixtures.

The Citizens currently sit top of the table and one point clear of second-placed Arsenal with a game in hand after winning each of their last 10 top-flight matches.

Guardiola’s treble-chasing City side are having to manage both domestic and Champions League duties, with Sunday’s trip to Goodison Park sandwiched between both legs of their semi-final clash with Real Madrid, who were held to a 1-1 first-leg draw at the Santiago Bernabeu on Tuesday.

Everton, meanwhile, held City to a 1-1 draw at the Etihad Stadium earlier this season and Guardiola is expecting another tricky test against the Merseysiders, who boosted their survival hopes with an impressive 5-1 victory at Brighton & Hove Albion on Monday.

“Goodison Park during my six seasons here always has been so difficult,” Guardiola said at a press conference on Friday, “For the environment and now for the momentum (they have). Sean Dyche is a good trainer of his team.

“They have the history and quality of the team. Brighton is one of the toughest places to go. The result was a real impact not just in table, but in Everton’s mood. It’s a big result. Everyone we saw, we thought that every team will play for something special, and it will be tough.

“Everything can happen. Everton score the first goal in the first minute at Brighton and get an incredible result. Defensive structure and physicality they have at Everton is really good. Everything can happen in a football game.”

Commenting on Man City’s hectic fixture schedule, Guardiola added: “(Sunday’s game) is also (difficult) because it’s between Champions League games, but my thoughts are just on Everton, no more than that, so we have to just focus on this game.

“We are 11 months working for Premier League, I don’t want to be distracted by the Real Madrid game. We don’t have much time, because we play Sunday. Thank you so much. It’s a real, real priority the game at Goodison Park.”

Guardiola believes that claiming maximum points against Everton is a must if they are to remain at the Premier League summit as he feels that title rivals Arsenal will end the campaign with three victories from their final three games.

“Definitely [Arsenal] are going to win the three games they have left,” said Guardiola. “I would like the games they have against Brighton, [Nottingham] Forest, Wolves to drop points, but with long weeks to prepare they will do it with nine points.”

These Guardiola’s comments were shared on Twitter by City Xtra and it attracted plenty of attention from the club’s supporters.

@KoloCornelius: “They will, don’t worry baldy.”

@Jacob4rmstrong: “Agreed. Been saying it for months, they won’t drop. Their games will be gifted wins.”

@walter_walper: “They have a relatively easy run in, can’t see them dropping any points, City has to keep winning.”

@ManCitty9320: “We all know that, the way they attack is so good, most of the team is in the box, they only leave maybe 3 players out, yet they cope well with counter attacks”

@FreddyGodson: “That’s inevitable. Brighton will be the true test of character for Mikel Arteta’s men..”

@Cityzilla_: “Assume perfection from them, demand perfection from us. I love this mindset. There’s no room for complacency. Every match is a cup final from now until the title is officially ours..”

@Sheggz01: “Why are we even looking forward for them do drop points. We have 4 matches to Play, they have three. We are also a point at ahead It’s in our hands, they’ve lost enough points to give us a chance …it’s left to us to Capitalize on it”

@AlfikriWahyu09: “He wants the title race to end sooner because if that happens he can rest some of his important players.”

Read More:

Related Posts