Pep Guardiola accepts Manchester City must adapt to the artificial surface they face in Switzerland this week – but claims “common sense” dictates grass is better.
The holders will play on unfamiliar terrain in their latest Champions League outing on Wednesday when they take on Young Boys on their synthetic pitch at the Wankdorf Stadium.
Guardiola insists there are no complaints on his part, and he has changed his team’s routine to ensure they are prepared.
Normally City do not take up the option available to them of training at the stadium when they play away games in Europe, instead preferring to work in Manchester before travelling.
However, on this occasion City flew to Bern on Tuesday morning and had a run out on the pitch in the evening.
Yet the City manager could not hide the feeling that he would prefer to be playing on a natural surface.
Speaking at a press conference, the Spaniard said: “It is what it is. If UEFA allows games to be played here it’s because it’s in good conditions.
“That’s one of the reasons we never train away but this is an exception. This is why we travel in the morning for the players to feel how the ball runs, how to move left, right, backwards, forwards. That’s why.
“We’ll try it and the players will know it immediately.”
Asked if he was concerned about injuries, Guardiola said: “I don’t know – hopefully not, for both sides, but I don’t know.
“We are not used to it. Any team that plays here is not used to it. It suits the Swiss league and, in the Champions League, the teams that come here have to adapt.
“We will not be the first in this situation. We have to use it as a benefit but the grass is better.”
Asked why, Guardiola said: “Because 99.9 per cent of the teams who play in a high level play on grass, otherwise UEFA and FIFA would decide to play on artificial pitches. It’s common sense, I would say.”
City go into their third match in Group G looking to maintain their 100 per cent record after victories over Red Star Belgrade and RB Leipzig.
Victory in their back-to-back games against Young Boys, who travel to the Etihad Stadium next month, could see City qualify for the knockout stages with two matches to spare.
City have no fresh injury concerns, with long-term casualty Kevin De Bruyne their only notable absentee.
Guardiola also played down concerns about the form of Jack Grealish, who is taking time to get back to his best after a month out with a dead leg.
The City boss said: “I don’t have one doubt about Jack and his quality and what he has done for us since he arrived, especially last season. I’m calm and confident. He is an incredibly important player for us.”
Premier League title race destiny is 'in our hands', says Man City boss Guardiola
Pep Guardiola knows the fate of the Premier League title race is in Manchester City's hands, as he urged his players to leave nothing to chance.
City head into the final day of the season in pole position, two points ahead of Arsenal and on the brink of an unprecedented fourth straight Premier League title.
Guardiola's team will be champions again if they beat West Ham at home. They could still win the league with a draw, but only if Arsenal fail to beat Everton.
And Guardiola's message to his team was a clear one.
"At that moment, the destiny is in our hands," he said. "But if you are waiting for [Arsenal] to drop points again, you are wrong.
"If you were thinking Arsenal were going to lose at Old Trafford [against Manchester United] forget about it. If you are thinking Everton are going do something on Sunday, forget about it.
"This is not going to happen. We did what we had to do against Crystal Palace, against Wolves, Fulham, Spurs and now we have the last one. So they know it's win, otherwise Arsenal will be champions."
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta is wanting a favour from his old boss David Moyes, who insisted West Ham's focus was purely on themselves, and not on spoiling anyone's parade.
"Football is a strange game. You never know what moments are going to give you the opportunity to win and we have to try to take those opportunities when we can," Moyes said.
"We're not playing to make Manchester City lose the Premier League and we're not playing to make Arsenal win the Premier League.
"We're playing for West Ham and we're trying to win the game for West Ham. We can't finish lower than ninth, which is a really good league position for West Ham in lots of ways."
This will be Moyes' final game in charge of the Hammers, and Guardiola hopes to see the Scot back in management soon.
"He will be back, that is my feeling. He cannot be at home," Guardiola said.
"My first game [at City] was against Sunderland and David Moyes was there. Now, an important game, he will be there again.
"It's always an honour to see him. He is a lovely person and his experience speaks for itself. But he will do what he can to beat us."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Manchester City - Kevin De Bruyne
De Bruyne has six assists in Premier League final games – it is the most of any current player, with only Nolberto Solano providing more in the competition's history (seven). De Bruyne’s assist for Haaland against Spurs on Tuesday took him to 112 in the Premier League, with only Ryan Giggs having more in the history of the competition (162).
West Ham - Jarrod Bowen
With 16 league goals this season, it has been another excellent campaign for Bowen, who will be hoping to finish on a high and force himself into England's Euro 2024 squad.
MATCH PREDICTION: MAN CITY WIN
This will be Moyes' 198th and final Premier League game in charge of West Ham – no permanent manager has a higher win rate for the Hammers in the competition than the Scotsman.
However, Opta's model does not fancy the Hammers' chances. West Ham have lost 5-2 at Crystal Palace and 5-0 at Chelsea in their last two Premier League away games; the last team to concede 5+ goals in three consecutive top-flight away games were Blackburn Rovers (April-August 1965), while West Ham last did so in April 1932.
City are the only side yet to lose a home Premier League match this season (W13 D5). City are looking to remain unbeaten at home in a top-flight season for a fourth time, along with 1904-05, 1920-21 and 2011-12, while manager Pep Guardiola has only gone a full top-flight season unbeaten once before, with Barcelona in 2009-10.
West Ham have conceded at least once in all 17 of their Premier League games at the Etihad Stadium – only Tottenham have played at a specific venue more in the competition without ever keeping a clean sheet (18 at Emirates Stadium).
City are unbeaten in their last 16 Premier League games against West Ham (W13 D3), since a 2-1 home loss in September 2015.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Man City - 75%
West Ham - 8.3%
Draw - 16.7%
Ten Hag unconcerned by Fernandes' fitness ahead of Man Utd's trip to Brighton
Erik ten Hag is not worried about Bruno Fernandes' fitness ahead of Manchester United's final game of the Premier League season.
Fernandes impressed in an attacking midfield role in United's 3-2 win over Newcastle on Wednesday.
The Portugal international was forced off through injury late on, yet Ten Hag is not overly concerned.
"Bruno didn't miss so much and he's fit," Ten Hag told United's media channels.
"I would say that is one of my least concerns, if he can keep going. He's fresh and he's in very good form but the others you mentioned, it's important [to get game time].
"They missed some games. [Marcus] Rashford, of course. [Lisandro] Martinez missed, I would say, almost the whole season. So every minute that he can get, we have to give him."
Should United win, and Newcastle fail to beat Brentford, then the Red Devils will be guaranteed European football next season, even if they lose the FA Cup final when they face Manchester City at Wembley on May 25.
Ten Hag's future is uncertain, but Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi pointed to United's injury issues as a main factor in their frustrating campaign.
"They have suffered a lot of injuries, problems, but they are still a very good team," he said.
"Ten Hag's Ajax team has been one of the best in quality of play. For United, this season, it's been tough playing without a lot of important players."
Brighton are entrenched in mid-table after failing to match the same heights they managed last season.
However, two of their players - Pascal Gross and striker Denis Undav, who is on loan at Stuttgart - were on Thursday called up for Germany's Euro 2024 squad.
De Zerbi said: "I am happy for Undav. He is becoming a great player. Pascal is not a surprise - he deserves to play for the national team."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Brighton - James Milner
James Milner has appeared in the final game in 16 different Premier League campaigns – if he plays in this match, he’ll be the first player in the competition's history to do so in 17 different seasons.
Manchester United - Bruno Fernandes
Fernandes has created 113 chances in the Premier League this season, 14 more than any other player. He also created the most chances last season (119) and is the first player to do so in back-to-back seasons since Eden Hazard in 2013-14 (93) and 2014-15 (100).
MATCH PREDICTION: DRAW
In their first 19 Premier League matches this season, Brighton were the fifth-highest scorers in the Premier League (38 goals) and had a conversion rate of 13.3 per cent. In their last 18 games since the turn of the year, only Everton (15) have scored fewer goals than the Seagulls (17), with their conversion rate of 6.6 per cent the worst of any side in this time.
United have lost their final league game in two of the last five seasons (W3), as many times as they had in the previous 33 campaigns (W23 D8).
Brighton have lost their final game in four of their six Premier League campaigns, with the exceptions being a 2-1 win at Burnley (2019-20) and a 3-1 home win v West Ham (2021-22).
Brighton have won each of their last four Premier League games against United – the last side to beat the Red Devils in five consecutive league games was Norwich City between 1988 and 1990.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Brighton - 35.4%
Man Utd - 35.9%
Draw - 28.7%
Real Salt Lake v Colorado Rapids: Armas targets Rocky Mountain Cup
Chris Armas is desperate to claim early-season silverware in the form of the Rocky Mountain Cup as the Colorado Rapids prepare to visit rivals Real Salt Lake on Saturday.
The Rapids are flying high in fourth in the Western Conference standings, four points adrift of top side RSL after 13 matches.
They should approach Saturday's derby in good spirits after their 1-0 win over the Vancouver Whitecaps in midweek, while they have already beaten RSL once this season – by a 2-1 scoreline on the road in early March.
"I wish we were hosting this one, the Rocky Mountain Cup is such an important thing to us and to our fans," Armas said.
"It'd be nice if we maybe played one at home and one on the road. Two on the road is tricky but it is what it is.
"We have the slight edge at the moment but we have work to do, to go there and get the trophy. You can go through an entire season and not play for a trophy, and now we are."
RSL boss Pablo Mastroeni represented Colorado for 11 years of his playing career then coached them for three years upon his retirement, but he feels he has come a long way since then.
"I think the biggest thing is my evolution as a person. When I first got into coaching, I'd just finished my career and threw myself into the deep waters," Mastroeni said.
"Over time you understand your game model and the way you want to play the game. These things take time, and it's really broadened my perspective."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Real Salt Lake – Andres Gomez
Gomez scored his fifth goal of the season in Real Salt Lake's 2-0 win over the Seattle Sounders on Wednesday.
He and Cristian Arango (11) have now combined for 16 goals this MLS campaign, the only team-mates to combine for more are Inter Miami's Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez (21).
Colorado Rapids – Rafael Navarro
Navarro scored the game's only goal in Colorado's win over Vancouver, becoming the first Rapids player since Diego Rubio in 2022 to score in three straight regular-season matches.
The only Rapids player in the last 12 years to score in four straight league games was Kei Kamara in 2019.
MATCH PREDICTION – REAL SALT LAKE WIN
The Rapids ended a seven-match losing streak in the Rocky Mountain Cup (two draws, five defeats) with a 2-1 victory at Real Salt Lake on March 9.
However, they haven't won two in a row against RSL since a pair of victories in September 2006 and April 2007.
Real Salt Lake have won three of their last four home matches, drawing the other and keeping clean sheets in all of those games. The Rapids are the only visiting team to win at America First Field this year, but RSL may just get their revenge this weekend.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Real Salt Lake – 49.2%
Colorado Rapids – 23.3%
Draw – 27.5%
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