Special tribute issued by Pep Guardiola to Everton ahead of final Goodison Park visit for Manchester City | OneFootball

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has issued a special final word on Goodison Park ahead of the club’s last visit to the iconic Everton stadium this weekend.

The four-in-a-row Premier League champions continue to have their work cut out this campaign as they go in search of qualification for the UEFA Champions League for next season after an underwhelming last few months in particular.

Injury and fitness problems have severely hindered Manchester City’s ability to compete for their usual high standards, although their hopes of an end-of-season recovery have been aided by an additional Champions League place for England and an FA Cup pursuit.

Points continue to be vital for Pep Guardiola and his players with competition for the top-five in the division hotly-contested among several teams, and the latest challenge takes the club over to Merseyside to take on an Everton side who did City a favour last weekend.

David Moyes’ Everton managed a 0-1 victory over Nottingham Forest at the City Ground to open up the chase for fourth position with Manchester City now just two points behind Nuno Espirito Santo’s men.

Speaking during his pre-match press conference, Pep Guardiola was keen to insist upon the special nature of Goodison Park, particularly due to its unique atmosphere in English football ahead of his and the club’s final visit to the Everton stadium on Saturday.

“Goodison Park is so special like all traditional stadiums here in England; when you go to Fulham, or Villa Park, stadiums like these, you feel the atmosphere is special,” Guardiola told reporters on Friday afternoon.

He continued, “But clubs grow and I’m pretty sure their new stadium (at Bramley-Moore Dock) will be nicer in terms of being maybe more comfortable and it’s a nice place to go – a difficult one, of course – but a nice place to go.”

When asked for some further thoughts on Everton’s resurgence this season under David Moyes in light of Sean Dyche’s dismissal, Guardiola was keen to recognise the work of both managers given their respective achievements with the Toffees.

“The results speak for itself,” Guardiola said of Everton in recent weeks. “I think Sean Dyche made an incredible job as well; I don’t forget how Sean took over the club or the team in that moment when it was in a difficult position, and avoided relegation.”

The Manchester City boss went on to explain, “But the impact from David (Moyes), for his experience, and he made an incredible job at West Ham in his last one, I think in all his career.

“But he has done an unbelievable job in terms of results, the patterns are so clear, so difficult to handle it. And yeah, it’s an important week for us.”

Manchester City’s clash on Merseyside is the first of three fixtures in a matter of days, with a midweek contest against Aston Villa in the Premier League on the horizon, followed by a trip to Wembley to take on Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup semi-final next Sunday afternoon.