Pep Guardiola said he is not a fan of Monday night football ahead of Premier League champions-elect Manchester City’s trip to Stoke City.
City – 16 points clear atop the table – can move another step closer to the title when they visit lowly Stoke, who are a point adrift of safety.
Guardiola’s men will be in action following the weekend’s fixtures, which includes a blockbuster showdown between Manchester United and Liverpool.
However, the former Bayern Munich and Barcelona boss expressed his dislike for Monday games – a source of frustration for City this season following a shock FA Cup loss to League One outfit Wigan Athletic on that day, while they were held by Everton in the Premier League in August.
“I have bad experiences playing games on Mondays. You have to be focused because Stoke away is always complicated, [they are] fighting to be in the Premier League,” he told a news conference.
“We were lucky last season to win there. When we face teams who are fighting to stay in the Premier League it is complicated.
“I don’t like to play on Monday because the weekend everybody is involved and when the weekend is over, they are like the weekend is over, there are no more games, but we have to play.”
It was 7-2 the last time but Pep knows we’re in for a tough ride this time around! #mancity pic.twitter.com/HvWaI2YgOR
— Manchester City (@ManCity) March 9, 2018
Guardiola added: “Sometimes in Barcelona, I remember when we played on Monday, a long time ago, always it was not good.
“At Wigan we lost because we played for 55 minutes with 10 against 11, and we weren’t precise enough to score a goal.”
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