Enzo Maresca warns Manchester City pressure can quickly mount

Manchester City manager Enzo Maresca is refusing to get carried away by his side’s impressive start to the season, insisting pressure can quickly increase if results begin to go against them.

City continued their winning run with a 5-0 win over Championship side Norwich in the Carabao Cup on Thursday.

The result was their sixth consecutive win in all competitions since losing to Arsenal in the Community Shield, giving Maresca a strong start after taking over from Pep Guardiola.

However, the former Chelsea boss knows expectations at City are high.

“I’m really happy. I said in the first press conference, for me to be in this club is a privilege and to be in this club after a legend like Pep is a privilege,” Maresca said.

“I know if I don’t win it’s a disaster, and it’s normal, but I don’t spend my day thinking who was here before and for how many years.

“I’m just here to focus on what we can do better, improve the team and trying to win games.”

City already planning for Sunday

Maresca was pleased to rest players who had featured heavily in recent matches, with City having beaten Porto and Manchester United before the Carabao Cup tie.

“It was very important we gave rest to the ones that played back-to-back 90 minutes against Porto and United,” he said.

“Hopefully they can be full of energy for Sunday’s game that will be a strong game.”

Maresca also suggested Samba could provide another option in attack, despite normally operating as a midfielder.

“We have Antoine [Semenyo] there, we can use Phil [Foden] and Rayan Cherki as a false nine. It depends on the gameplan,” he added.

“But Floyd played here, he was good and hopefully we can give him more chances.”

Where to watch Man City vs Sunderland: TV channel, live online stream

Kick-off on Sunday is at 14:00 BST (09:00 ET / 06:00 PT), with live coverage in the UK on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Ultra.

Via Now TV, Sky Sports costs £14.99 for a day membership, £27.99 a month for a 12-month membership or £34.99 a month with no contract.

Here’s the full list of Premier League international broadcasters.

Premier League fixtures this weekend

Full Premier League table

Premier League 2026

England

#	Team	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Last 4
1	Arsenal	4	4	0	0	8	1	7	12	W W W W
2	Manchester City	4	4	0	0	8	2	6	12	W W W W
3	Leeds	4	2	2	0	7	3	4	8	W D D W
4	Hull City	4	2	2	0	5	2	3	8	D D W W
5	Brighton	4	2	1	1	13	5	8	7	W D L W
6	Chelsea	4	2	1	1	10	9	1	7	D L W W
7	Brentford	4	1	3	0	7	4	3	6	D D D W
8	Liverpool	4	1	3	0	6	4	2	6	D W D D
9	Everton	4	1	3	0	5	3	2	6	D D D W
10	Ipswich	4	2	0	2	7	10	-3	6	W L L W
11	Nottingham Forest	4	1	2	1	4	4	0	5	W D D L
12	Newcastle	4	1	2	1	7	8	-1	5	L D W D
13	Manchester United	4	1	1	2	7	7	0	4	L D W L
14	Sunderland	4	1	1	2	3	5	-2	4	L D W L
15	Bournemouth	4	0	3	1	6	7	-1	3	D D D L
16	Crystal Palace	4	1	0	3	6	11	-5	3	L W L L
17	Tottenham	4	0	2	2	0	5	-5	2	D D L L
18	Fulham	4	0	1	3	4	7	-3	1	D L L L
19	Aston Villa	4	0	1	3	1	7	-6	1	L D L L
20	Coventry	4	0	0	4	0	10	-10	0	L L L L

• Position 1, 2, 3, 4 : Promotion – Champions League (League phase)
• Position 5 : Promotion – Europa League (League phase)
• Position 18, 19, 20 : Relegation – Championship