After a cheerful moment, "Pep" spoke frankly ahead of Manchester City's clash with West Ham in the Premier League's final title race stretch.
On 13 March 2026, Pep Guardiola, manager of Manchester City, gave a latest interview at the press conference ahead of the 2025-26 English Premier League's 30th matchday, an away game against West Ham United, currently 18th in the standings, scheduled for Saturday, 14 March.
The Premier League table situation before this game shows Man City in 2nd place with 60 points from 29 matches, trailing leaders Arsenal by 7 points but having played one game fewer. The "Sky Blues" still have a chance to overtake the "Gunners" and win the title if they can win all their remaining matches.
Pep Guardiola, who recently won the Premier League Manager of the Month award for February, spoke about Man City's title chances while still 7 points behind Arsenal after their 0-3 loss to Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 first leg: "I don't know (if losing to Real Madrid will affect the team). We have to see how it goes."
"Tomorrow night we have an important Premier League game and then the second leg, so I don't know. We've faced situations like this many times before."
"West Ham is like Nottingham Forest, whom we just faced (a 2-2 draw). Every team is playing for something — to avoid relegation, to qualify for Europe, to reach the Champions League. Every game offers no second chances."
"Games like this are tough. Many of the plans we've made don't always go as expected. We play the game we have to play, and after it's over, that will determine whether we still have a chance."
"It's tough, yes. We don't have enough points, but we'll see. Right now, the focus is on West Ham. The Premier League is the toughest league — I believe it's the hardest league — and we are still in it. We know that if we drop more points, the title race is probably over."