City made a storming start to the season but have faltered of late with a four-game winless run culminating in Wednesday’s 4-0 Champions League defeat to a Lionel Messi-inspired Barcelona. But Puel, whose team were narrowly beaten 1-0 by Inter Milan in the Europa League a day later, refutes suggestions that now is the best time to be facing Pep Guardiola’s wobbling side. “I think Manchester played a good game, a good style of game against Barcelona,” he said. “For me there was no big difference between the two teams, apart from one player, Messi, who made the difference.
“If Man City can do good work against us it’s important for us to think and prepare” “But I saw a very good team at the start against Barcelona with quality, a good collective and good players. “If they can do good work against us it’s important for us to think and prepare. Just two days between the games is very difficult and Manchester have had more time to recover. “It’s difficult to play against Manchester City, or Barcelona, because they like to have the ball, they have quality. It’s difficult to defend against. “It’s the challenge for us on Sunday to find the solution, but not just to defend. It’s important to play and give problems to this team. It’s important to play our football. “We have played good football since the start of the season. Will will see against City because City are for me, the top, so it’s a good challenge for us to see our progress in the Premier League.”
Sunday’s trip to the Etihad will be the second time Puel has come up against Guardiola - almost eight years ago as manager of Lyon he took on the Spaniard’s Barca side in the Champions League. Lyon secured a 1-1 draw in the first leg but Barcelona won the tie 6-3 on aggregate and went on to beat Manchester United in the final. “It was the start of his managerial career but it was a fantastic performance,” recalled Puel. “We got a draw at home and in the return Barcelona were fantastic, it was not possible for us to play.
“The game at Tottenham was quite tough for us,” he said. “We didn’t play the football we wanted to play. They deserved to win against us. We have to learn how to handle these games.
“Spending 10 days away from each other on an international break and then coming back to have just a couple of days of training to prepare for the next game is not so easy. But the most important thing is the way we play. The results will come automatically if we carry on like that.”
In the wake of the defeat in Barcelona, Guardiola responded to questions about his style of play by pointing out that he has won 21 trophies in seven years as a manager.
Even his biggest blip did not derail him in that respect; the only previous time during his coaching career that he went five matches without a victory was in the spring of 2009 with Barcelona. They ended that campaign with the treble of La Liga, the Copa del Rey and the Champions League.
Saints are looking to make it five unbeaten in the Premier League, as they aim to bounce back from their 1-0 defeat to Internazionale on Thursday night in Europe.
Boufal made his debut in that defeat in the San Siro, and believes Saints have every chance of getting a result against Pep Guardiola’s side on Sunday.
“It’s a very, very big game against Manchester City,” Boufal said. “They lost on Wednesday against Barcelone and will want to win again for confidence.
“It’s a very good match for us and I hope for a victory. Why not?
“Of course we can be confident. We have great players in our team.
“I think we can go to Manchester City and win. But it’s a very strong team, they have very good players.
“We need to focus and if we have good opportunities we need to score goals.”
Bet we’ll be laughing all the way to the blank when Manchester United go to Chelsea today.
United delivered a masterclass in their 0-0 at Anfield if you like that sort of thing - and Jose Mourinho does.
J-Mo boasts a W11 D9 L3 tally in ‘big six’ league clashes since he returned to the Prem in 2013 - including W3 D7 L2 away from home.
I can’t have the home win at these prices. Chelsea looked ordinary in defeat against Liverpool and Arsenal. But the Europa factor is a negative for United.
I’ll take the honourable DRAW at 12/5 and the half-time 0-0 at 15/8 (Hills).
After 10 wins on the bounce the Pep bubble’s gone pop at Manchester City.
It was only 1-0 at Barca when City went down to 10 men, but leaking 10 goals in four games is a worry, however you slice it.
With Aguero starting, today’s return to home soil looks like the reset button after five aways in the last six.
Southampton are no easy meat. But they battered Inter black and blue in midweek and lost. They don’t score from enough of their attempts on target. The latest stats I saw ranked them worst in the Prem on that measure.
It’s trappy stuff for punters looking for fair prices, but Saints should make a fight of it, and I think there might be some meat left on the bone of the 10/11 (Paddy) that the last goal of the game is scored OVER 76 minutes.
Burnley - Andre Gray - 2/10. The striker emerged in the Championship last season and became the key figure at Turf Moor with 23 goals. Has missed out this season with a four-match ban after a series of offensive tweets from 2012 came to light
FOOTBALL is a team game, but most squads have a talisman who they turn to in times of need - so which club’s key man is the best?
While always at risk of being picked off by the big boys in La Liga - see Cristiano Ronaldo, Luis Suarez and Gareth Bale - every Premier League club loves to have a superstar to rely on when possible.
Leicester have Riyad Mahrez, Arsenal have Alexis Sanchez and Manchester City have Sergio Aguero - but who is the best star man in the competition?
We’ve given every star player a rating out of 10 based on their ability as a player and importance to their team, and ranked them from worst to best.
CLICK THROUGH THE GALLERY ABOVE TO SEE WHO ARE THE BEST STAR MEN IN THE PREMIER LEAGUE.