ANALYZING PEP GUARDIOLA’s LATEST PREDICTION

“My feeling today is that we are going to win the Premier League,” he insisted. “If we play the levels like we did against Liverpool and Tottenham, we are going to win it again.

“People don’t believe it already because of the three draws, but we’re going to do it again. Knowing that it is not easy.

“No team has done it yet [win four consecutive Premier League titles], so that’s why the difficulty is there, it was last season, it was this season.

“But if you ask me today what you’re feeling, we’re going to do it again.”

On the 6^th of December 2023, Manchester City FC would lock horns with Aston Villa FC in the EPL week 15 match. They have endured three successive score draws and have dropped to the third position and sit six points away from Arsenal FC, the current league leaders. The first was a 4-4 draw against Chelsea, then a 1-1 draw against Liverpool, and last week’s 3-3 draw against Tottenham Hotspur FC. Strangely, Guardiola substantiated his prediction using the levels they attained in their matches against Liverpool and Tottenham. Against RB Leipzig, they came from two goals down to win 3-2 and it’s tough to predict if the past three draws have been due to a drop in form or quality resistance from formidable opposition.

THE WISDOM OF GUARDIOLA’s PREDICTION

To assert control in the face of obvious danger remains a strong leadership capability targeted to build confidence for his players. Should he have said otherwise or questioned their commitment? Doing that would unsettle the team, putting everyone in disarray. Even with a possible sanction of Manchester City for dissent against the referee whilst protesting against his call that prevented them from a possible winning goal, Guardiola defended his team.

 

WOULD GUARDIOLA’s PREDICTION COME TRUE?

Virtually everything is possible in football, more so, in the English Premier League. The league is not yet halfway twists and we expect more drama, twists, and turns among the teams. With the points dropped by all teams at this stage of the League, it’s obvious that the League would end on a tight race and any team currently within the top 6 stands a good chance of winning the league. More points would still be won and lost, injuries to key players would occur, same with bad referee calls. The most consistent team would win the league, and going by the current results, Manchester City has not been very consistent. They have a robust team matched with the hectic load of matches in the English Premier League, UEFA Champions League, and other local competitions and International commitments by virtually all their players. Their other rivals such as Arsenal, Liverpool, and Aston Villa have almost the same schedule though none can compare with the resilience of the Manchester City squad.

The match against Aston Villa is an important that would determine the possibility of Guardiola’s dream coming true. Another draw would take City far from the summit and definitely unsettle the confidence of the team. Villa does stand a good chance of having their day, going by their current records. They have won their last 13 Premier League matches at the Villa Park! These permutations make the EPL tick and attractive! A loss at Villa Park could scuttle their title challenge for the 2023/24 EPL Trophy.