Manchester City ‘apparently not’ contenders for Champions League crown as Guardiola relishes De Bruyne return
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola isn't putting much stock in the Champions League odds.
Pep Guardiola is not focusing on Manchester City’s status as apparent outsiders for the Champions League title this season as they prepare to face club legend Kevin De Bruyne and Napoli on Thursday.
City bid an emotional farewell to De Bruyne back in May as his decorated spell with the club was brought to an end after 10 years.
He will return with reigning Serie A champions Napoli in the first fixture of City’s league phase campaign, with Guardiola’s men not among the top favourites to lift the trophy, at least in the eyes of the bookmakers.
City were knocked out in the playoff round by Real Madrid last season. For this term, Liverpool, Barcelona, Arsenal, holders Paris Saint-Germain and Madrid all have shorter odds than City.
Premier League champions Liverpool are the favourites and the pick of the most to claim the title, though Guardiola insists he pays little mind to such predictions as he sets out to ensure City make a strong start.
“Apparently we are not [contenders],” Guardiola told his pre-match press conference.
“Just enjoy the moment, we are happy to be here after the path we have been [on] so we are just focusing on tomorrow and the game we have to play and starting well in this competition.
“We have more games than the previous seasons but if you start with a bad result it can be difficult, last season we drew the first game against Inter [Milan] and hopefully we can do better.”
City are already six points behind Liverpool in the Premier League having lost two of their opening four games, though they got back on track with a 3-0 derby win over Manchester United on Sunday.
Asked if the Champions League or Premier League is his priority, Guardiola replied: “[My] priority is the next game and it always has been since I arrived here.
“We do not choose the next game and in 10 days we go to Huddersfield [in the EFL Cup] and then that will be the most important one. We take every game seriously.”
Napoli have claimed three wins from three to start their Scudetto defence, with De Bruyne already on target twice for Antonio Conte’s side.
Guardiola is not surprised by how quickly De Bruyne has flourished in Serie A, and is relishing a reunion with the Belgium international.
“[I am looking forward to seeing him] after the game,” Guardiola added.
“Of course it’s nice to have him back. The players in that level [Serie A] adapt so quickly and they don’t need that much time to adapt.”