Who: Leicester City vs Manchester City
What: English Premier League
Where: King Power Stadium, Leicester, United Kingdom
When: 12:30pm (12:30 GMT) on Sunday
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Pep Guardiola insists he will not walk out on troubled Manchester City as he strives to stop the champions’ stunning decline.
The Spaniard, whose side visit Leicester City on Sunday, only recently signed a two-year contract extension but City’s dismal form has raised questions about his future. A nightmare run of nine defeats in 13 games, with just one win in that woeful spell, triggered suggestions the City boss could decide to quit if he cannot find an answer to his team’s problems.
Having led City to six Premier League titles in the past seven seasons, however, Guardiola is adamant he still has the hunger to turn the situation around.
“I will try, I will keep going. Sometimes you think the bad run will be ended earlier or it would be easier to fix it, but it takes more time,” he told reporters in the run-up to Sunday’s match. “I will not give up. I want to be here. I want to do it and, with the situation that we have, we have to do it.
“Of course, I want it, everyone wants it. I don’t want to disappoint my people in terms of the club, the fans, the people who love this club. I think all of us in our job want to do it well and please the people. That is undeniable, not a question mark.
“The biggest test is to come back again, but we have done that before.”
Injuries have been a major factor in City’s decline, leaving them languishing in seventh place in the Premier League.
Most especially, the gaping hole left by Ballon d’Or winner Rodri, as he recovers from a long-term knee injury. Nor have matters been helped by the erratic form in an inconsistent season by the usually prolific Erling Haaland, who missed a penalty that could have sealed a City win against Everton in their last match.
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