‘Scared’ Pep Guardiola admits Newcastle United do one thing so much better than his Manchester City side

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Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has now admitted that he is ‘scared’ of playing against Newcastle United.

The two sides are level in the Premier League right now, with Newcastle United and Manchester City accumulating 41 points from 23 games.

However, they have been on different journeys to get there. Eddie Howe’s side have had an incredible run of form, while Manchester City have looked a shell of their former selves.

They have had injury problems, with Rodri being the biggest miss. They also have an ageing squad, with Man City not really evolving over the past couple of years despite their dominance.

Meanwhile, other clubs like the Magpies have got better. Guardiola thinks Newcastle play modern football, which Man City have struggled to do as of late.

Pep Guardiola makes new Newcastle United claim

While Man City struggle, Pep Guardiola continues to praise the clubs that are around him.

That continued on Wednesday night after his side advanced in the Champions League following a 3-1 win over Club Brugge.

After the game, Guardiola spoke about being fearful of facing ‘transitional’ teams like Newcastle due to having an ageing side.

“I would love to not concede the counter-attack, to have more control, but for the absences that we have, we are an old team,” he said.

“Kevin (De Bruyne) is 34 (in June), (Ilkay) Gundogan 34, Mateo (Kovacic) is the same (turning 31 in May). We don’t have replacements so they played a lot of minutes. That’s why we are so grateful for what Gundogan has done, and Kovacic and Kevin to come back as soon as possible.

“That’s why I’m a little bit scared to play these transitional games against Newcastle, Liverpool, Arsenal, Aston Villa, Brighton – they are miles away better than us.”

Newcastle United must prove Pep Guardiola right next month

Newcastle United will soon have the chance to prove Pep Guardiola right.

After they take on Fulham on Saturday, the Magpies’ next Premier League game is away to Manchester City on February 15th.

That will be a big test for Eddie Howe’s side, as the Etihad is a ground they always struggle at. Newcastle have never won there in the Premier League. Their only victory at the Etihad came in the League Cup in 2014 when Alan Pardew was manager.

That will hopefully change next month. However, you do wonder if this is mind games from Guardiola. It could create a sense of complacency, while it makes his team look all the more impressive if they come out on top.

Howe will know this. The Newcastle United manager will make sure that his side do not arrive at the Etihad with inflated egos, simply because Guardiola said how good they are.

But fingers crossed the Newcastle United team can at least prove him right.