Pep Guardiola fires Champions League warning to Manchester City squad ahead of crucial Brighton and Hove Albion clash | OneFootball

Pep Guardiola has sent a warning to his Manchester City squad ahead of a key Premier League meeting with fellow top-four hopefuls Brighton and Hove Albion this weekend.

The Premier League champions are fifth in the league table after Nottingham Forest took a giant step towards securing their place in next season’s UEFA Champions League with a late 1-0 win over Manchester City last week.

Pep Guardiola’s side currently have 10 games to go and are two points adrift of fourth-placed Chelsea as they embark upon a run of games that appear kinder than the stretch of fixtures the Blues have faced since January.

However, the Catalan tactician is certainly aware of the task at hand for Manchester City and is not hiding away from how important it is for the club to secure a seat in next season’s Champions League.

Speaking during his pre-match press conference on Friday afternoon, Pep Guardiola told reporters, “We have to reach the highest and best possible level to qualify for Europe. Definitely.

“We have to be consistent as much as possible, 10 games left – six at home, four away and at home – we have tough, tough games; Brighton, Aston Villa, Bournemouth.

“Most of the games are really, really, really tough! We have to do better, because there are many teams in this target and we missed an important chance last week and we deserved to. We are not like we are.

“I like to deserve success, deserve our wins, and in that game – we didn’t deserve it.”

Manchester City’s meeting with Fabian Hurzeler’s side on Saturday afternoon will conclude a long run of club football since the last international break, with various national team commitments on the horizon for multiple members of the squad.

City will then return to compete in a competition that marks their final shot at major silverware this season, with an away trip to AFC Bournemouth in the FA Cup quarter-finals on the horizon.