Guardiola uninterested in Liverpool v Man Utd as Reds are so far clear

Pep Guardiola feels it is pointless rooting for Manchester United at Anfield this weekend given Liverpool’s huge advantage over Manchester City.

Jurgen Klopp’s unbeaten Reds host United – the only side to take points off them in the Premier League this season – on Sunday in a blockbuster encounter that is sure to be of interest to fans across the world.

Those of a City persuasion are in the unenviable position of knowing a victory for their cross-city rivals would be beneficial to Guardiola’s side.

Yet, given the Reds would still be 11 points clear with a game in hand if they lose and City beat Crystal Palace at home on Saturday, Guardiola sees little point in even paying attention to how Liverpool are faring.

Asked whether he would be supporting United on Sunday, Guardiola replied: “Being so far away from [Liverpool], I think it’s not interesting to look a little bit [at] what Liverpool does.

“It’s better to focus on what we can improve for the rest of this season in all competitions, in the Premier League as well, and prepare the next one.”

A word from the boss ahead of #MCICRY…

@marathonbet
#ManCity #PepTalk pic.twitter.com/BDDmmH8RKs

— Manchester City (@ManCity) January 17, 2020

While they have not been able to gain on Liverpool given the relentless pace of Klopp’s men, City have enjoyed an upturn in recent weeks, winning nine of their previous 10 games in all competitions.

Guardiola, who is under contract at the Etihad Stadium until 2021, has already stated he would like to stay on next season and the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich boss stressed the only way he could depart is if the club sack him.

“Unless they sack me, I’m going to stay another year here,” he added.

“I don’t have to announce, I have a contract. I’m going to stay, 100 per cent.

“[Unless] they don’t like it and say, ‘We want to change the manager.’ But for sure 100 per cent I’m going to stay here next season, not because we won the last two games, or the last month we are playing a little bit better.

“Even if it was going bad or not qualifying for the Champions League, I’m not going to give up.

“The managers have good moments and bad moments, not all the managers win all the time. In the bad times we can say we are bad because we’ve lost some games so what can we do to get better? So, it’s simple.”