Pep Guardiola is confident his Manchester City side will secure an unprecedented fourth successive Premier League title this season.
The champions remain firm favourites to retain their crown despite being held to three consecutive draws at the hands of Chelsea, Liverpool and Tottenham.
Yet their current form has prompted some observers to wonder if the team still retain the hunger to triumph again after last season’s treble success.
Guardiola, however, has no doubt and has sent out a strong message to rivals that there is no complacency within his squad.
“My feeling today is we’re going to win the Premier League,” said the City manager at a press conference to preview Wednesday’s game at Aston Villa.
“If we play at the levels that we showed against Liverpool and Tottenham, we’re going to win it again.
“People don’t believe it already after three draws but we feel we’re going to do it again, knowing that it is not easy because no team has done it yet (won four in a row).
“The difficulty is there and was last season but, if you ask me today what I’m feeling, we’re going to do it again.”
Guardiola does not even think his players need to use the sense of injustice from the controversial end to Sunday’s clash with Spurs – when Erling Haaland was denied the chance to play advantage after being fouled – to fuel them.
He said: “We never use these kind of situations. Today the motivation is to try and do better.
“Sometimes decisions help you, sometimes they don’t. I learn that if you want to win something you have to do it much, much better than the opponents.”
City have been charged with failing to control their players by the Football Association following the stormy end to the 3-3 draw against Spurs.
A number of the team, notably Haaland, surrounded referee Simon Hooper to protest after he pulled back play to award a free-kick. Haaland had felt play should go on after he had got up following a bad challenge from Emerson Royal to release Jack Grealish through on goal.
Haaland continued his complaints after the game, going on to criticise Hooper in a social media post, but the Norwegian is not facing any individual action from the FA.
When asked about this, Guardiola preferred to highlight some of the more magnanimous comments from his players about the incident and defended their general conduct.
He said: “We’ve behaved incredibly this season in our not good results or decisions that are sometimes against us.
“When after the game, the comments from my players accepting we can do better is what I want to see from my team and my club.
“After that, we’ll accept all the decisions from the Premier League or whatever.”
City will be without Rodri and Jack Grealish through suspension at Villa Park while Jeremy Doku will be assessed after suffering a knock against Spurs.
Nuno demands Premier League resolves PSR 'mess' as Forest await appeal verdict
Nuno Espirito Santo has called for the Premier League to provide clarity as Nottingham Forest wait on their appeal against a four-point deduction for breaching profit and sustainability rules, describing the situation as a "mess".
Forest were deducted four points in March after being found to have breached the competition's financial rules in the assessment period culminating in the end of the 2022-23 season.
Everton have also had a total of eight points deducted for two separate breaches, but with the Toffees pulling clear of the relegation zone, it is Forest who are looking over their shoulders.
Nuno's team sit just one point clear of 18th-placed Luton Town as they await the outcome of an appeal against their penalty, and he says the lack of clarity is affecting several clubs.
Asked whether he had received an update on Forest's appeal on Thursday, Nuno said: "Unfortunately we haven't heard yet.
"We are expecting to, but not yet. It is very difficult. We have been dealing with this situation for a while.
"We all expected the decision to come sooner, so we would know exactly how many points we have. Do we have 30, 29, 28, 27? We need it as fast as possible.
"To have 30 points would be fantastic, because this is the number of points that the boys achieved on the pitch.
"It is a mess. It should have been decided before. They have had enough time. It is very difficult for us but also for the rest of the league. It is very hard to be in this situation."
Forest visit already-relegated Sheffield United on Saturday, having taken just one point from four Premier League games since beating Fulham 3-1 in early April.
They could be in the relegation zone by the time that match kicks off, with Luton hosting Everton in a huge clash at Kenilworth Road on Friday.
France defender Hernandez to miss Euro 2024 after suffering ACL injury
Lucas Hernandez will miss France's Euro 2024 campaign after tearing his anterior cruciate ligament during Paris Saint-Germain's 1-0 Champions League defeat to Borussia Dortmund.
Dortmund will take a slender lead to the Parc des Princes for next week's semi-final second leg after Niclas Fullkrug's strike powered them past PSG in Wednesday's first leg in Germany.
Hernandez sustained a knee injury while chasing after Fullkrug in the build-up to the goal and was substituted after a brief attempt to play on.
On Thursday, PSG announced an MRI scan had revealed an ACL tear in his left knee, which will require surgery in the coming days.
Hernandez, who has 37 senior international caps, will now miss Euro 2024, with France set to open their Group D campaign against Austria in Dusseldorf on June 17.
Didier Deschamps' side then face the Netherlands in Leipzig four days later, before taking on Poland in Dortmund on June 25.
Hernandez was part of France's squad for the 2022 World Cup but sustained another ligament injury during Les Bleus' opening match against Australia, missing the rest of the tournament and not returning to club football until the start of 2023-24.
Tonali set for August return after receiving suspended two-month ban from FA
Sandro Tonali has been given a suspended two-month ban by the Football Association (FA) after admitting to breaching gambling rules.
The sanction means the Newcastle United midfielder will be eligible to return to action on August 27, 2024, when his 10-month suspension issued by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) expires.
FIFA ratified that ban, causing it to become applicable worldwide, after Tonali admitted to placing bets on matches as part of an investigation into unregulated betting platforms in Italy.
In March, the FA charged Tonali with breaching English football's gambling rules 50 times between August and October last year, leading to fears his spell out of the game could be extended.
However, on Thursday it was confirmed that the FA had suspended Tonali's punishment for the duration of the 2024-25 season, meaning he can return in August if he does not reoffend.
In a statement, Newcastle said: "Sandro Tonali has been given a suspended two-month ban from competitive football by an independent regulatory commission after self-declaring breaches of FA betting rules.
"He has also been fined £20,000 and warned by the FA as to his future conduct.
"Provided that he does not commit any further breach of the FA betting rules during the suspension period, Sandro will not serve any part of the two-month sanction.
"As acknowledged by the FA in the independent regulatory commission's written reasons, the level of assistance Sandro has provided by self-referring and fully cooperating with a subsequent investigation is extraordinary and unprecedented.
"Sandro is continuing to follow a therapeutic plan and educational programme with the club's full support and will continue to train with his team-mates."
Tonali's initial ban has limited him to just eight Premier League appearances since he joined Newcastle from Milan in a £55million deal, while he will also miss Italy's Euro 2024 campaign.
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