Pep targeting final day ‘chance’

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Manchester City F.C.

·17 May 2026

Pep targeting final day ‘chance’

Pep Guardiola says that all his players want is the opportunity to go into our final game against Aston Villa with a chance of winning the Premier League.

To be in with a realistic chance of achieving that, City must beat Bournemouth on Tuesday evening – unless Arsenal, currently two points clear at the top, drop points when they face Burnley on Monday evening.

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The Blues’ boss is also acutely aware that the Cherries are still in with a chance of qualifying for the Champions League for the first time in their history. and so represent an incredibly difficult hurdle.

Coming so soon after our FA Cup final win over Chelsea, the boss says his players will need to dig deep against one of the Premier League’s most in-form teams.

“The fatigue will be the same, but the energy will be different. Going to Bournemouth, [had we lost to Chelsea] would have been more difficult,” said Pep.

“I said, take a shower quick and we’ll go to the airport. Sunday is recovery and then we’ll travel to Bournemouth on Monday.

“They are playing for the European competitions, and I don’t know the last time they lost. It’s an incredible team.

“How they press is maybe the most energetic in the Premier League. Then we will decide again how we feel in terms of players and how we are going to play.

“We will try to extend [our season]. We will try to win the game and arrive against Aston Villa with a chance.

“On Sunday we smell how the players feel and review how Bournemouth can do, but we’ve played a few times against Iraola.

“It’s not the best opponent to face after a game like [Chelsea], but at the same time, it’s two games [remaining].

“Tuesday and Sunday. Cards on the table, we know exactly what we have to do. We’ll try it.”