Guardiola expecting a close race right to the finish | OneFootball

Pep Guardiola says Manchester City are in a battle to secure Champions League football next season but dismissed suggestions it was our toughest challenge since he joined the club.

His side face Leicester City in the Premier League on Wednesday 2 April at 19:45 (UK) with the top half of the table still pushing for a spot in Europe’s top competition.

There could be an extra place awarded to English sides for next season’s competition with City currently fifth with nine games of the campaign remaining.

CITY V LEICESTER | MATCH PREVIEW

While it promises to be a fierce fight to the end of the season, Guardiola says we had huge battles with Liverpool for the title when we put together long winning streak to take crowns on the final day of the season.

The City boss is expecting a close race but also said it was incredibly challenging to win six of the past seven Premier Leagues ahead of tough opposition.

WATCH: Coming up on CITY+ this April

“It’s true [it will be close] but don’t tell me about the toughest battles,” he said in his pre-match news conference.

“We had in the past much more tougher than this one. When you have to win 16 or 17 games to win the Premier League don't tell me it's not a tough one.

“In the past except the first season we were together, and one season when Liverpool were extremely strong and we could not compete with them, all the time we were there to fight for the Premier League.

“This is the first time, along with the first season I was here nine years ago, that we have to fight to qualify for the Champions League.

"We have nine games left and we know what we have to do. Five at home, four away, we have to win our home games and we are going to try.”

Among our past winning streaks were 18 victories in the 2017/18 season, 17 in 2020/21 and 13 in last season's title triumph when we finished ahead of Arsenal.

A strong run to the end of the campaign should secure a top-four finish and Guardiola says the players want to achieve it again.

“I would like to say yes but I don’t know because the previous seasons we have done it  and every season we have been able to do it,” he added.

“This season we have not been consistent so I don’t know.”