Pep Guardiola has warned against complacency after Manchester City look to preserve a 100 per cent record this weekend.
City have five wins from five in their latest title defence, with Nottingham Forest boss Steve Cooper claiming that the Etihad Stadium is the hardest game in world football ahead of their trip.
Guardiola is looking to win the opening half-a-dozen matches for the first time since 2016 but conceded that start counted for nothing during his debut season.
‘When we arrived here seven years ago we made six from six and we finished third,’ Guardiola said, with City ending up 15 points adrift of eventually champions Chelsea.
‘It’s just the beginning. The competition is hard. Some of the opponents don’t miss many points.’
Pep Guardiola has warned his Manchester City players against complacency this weekend
City have won their first five Premier League games and are hoping to make it six in a row
Guardiola is hopeful that Jack Grealish can play some part of Saturday’s game after injury, but is missing Bernardo Silva, Mateo Kovacic, John Stones and Kevin De Bruyne.
The City boss put the growing list of fitness problems down to the load on his players and packed schedules since the pandemic.
‘We’ve played a lot,’ Guardiola added. ‘Less games means less injuries. A lot of games in a row over the years and no rest. We can’t sustain it. Jack got a knock on his knee in Sheffield; that’s football, it can happen.
‘Muscular injuries mean you miss a lot. We cannot play the same players every time.’
They host Nottingham Forest on Saturday afternoon, with Forest boss Steve Cooper claiming that the trip to the Etihad Stadium is the hardest game in world football