“This is what we have to do” – Pep Guardiola reveals he is optimistic Manchester City WILL qualify for the 2025/26 Champions League | OneFootball

There is optimism from Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola that his side will qualify for next season’s UEFA Champions League.

The four-in-a-row Premier League champions have endured their worst campaign under Pep Guardiola to date, with their defensive record and number of losses suffered this season rivalling the Catalan’s debut year with the club in 2016/17.

Such has been the torrid nature of their results that Manchester City now find themselves in a race to make Europe’s premier club competition for the next campaign, with the Premier League earning five places in the tournament as opposed to the usual four.

With just six games remaining in the division, City are currently ranked fifth in the division, closely followed by Chelsea and Aston Villa, whilst hot on the trail of Nottingham Forest and Newcastle United.

Performances and results have seen somewhat of an up-turn of late after the March international break, and having come from behind to defeat Crystal Palace 5-2 at the Etihad Stadium last weekend, hopes are increasing over the club’s top-five fate.

Speaking during a recent press conference, Pep Guardiola revealed precisely why he holds fresh optimism over his Manchester City side’s ability to secure a top-five place in the Premier League this season and qualify for the UEFA Champions League.

“Some spirit is back and, in some games, moments was good. (Against Manchester) United no, but the spirit is there. What sustains this chance (of a top-five finish) is spirit. The game we played, maybe we will a struggle, but the spirit has to be there,” Guardiola said.

“And we learned, we saw with incredible curiosity this Tuesday, Wednesday Champions League games, and I know the rhythm and I know the spirit that they play and this is what we have to do.”

Pep Guardiola was further pressed on his comments surrounding the team’s ‘spirit’ and why he feels that may have left his Manchester City squad in such a short space of time, having only won the Premier League title for a fourth consecutive season less than a year ago.

“I said many times, there are a lot of reasons, but the main, main reason, main reason, main reason, we didn’t have players, we’ve had a lot of injuries. And with that it is impossible,” the Catalan boss admitted.

“Put that in any sport, collectively, or with important players in basketball and wherever, the important players don’t play – they are not the same. We could not be the same.

“And we could not rotate, they could not compete with each other, and in a certain moments we needed this spirit and fight, and we don’t have legs, we don’t have energy.

“Because in the that period – October, November, December, January – we will have a lot of games, every three days. That was the reason; I know they wanted it, but they could not.”

Manchester City return to action in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon when they make their final visit to Everton’s Goodison Park for a clash with David Moyes’ in-form Merseyside outfit.

Pep Guardiola is due to issue his latest thoughts on various talking points on Friday afternoon when he faces the media in his pre-match press conference at the City Football Academy training centre.