Pep Guardiola Thinks 'Liverpool Are Going to Win All Their Games' in Title Race

Manchester City are going to have to be perfect during the remainder of the run-in if the club is going to retain the Premier League title. That's the verdict of manager Pep Guardiola, who believes nearest rivals Liverpool will win out and has challenged his players to do the same.

Guardiola spoke after the Citizens beat Crystal Palace 3-1 at Selhurst Park on Sunday. The result briefly put City top, but Liverpool returned to the summit thanks to a 2-0 victory over Chelsea at Anfield soon after.

City's chief thinks his team still has the edge, per Dominic Fifield of the Guardian: "We think Liverpool are going to win all their games, but the Premier League is still in our hands. We'll have to win every game if we want to make back-to-back titles, we know that and the players have shown they want to do it."

There's an element of mischief inherent in these comments. Guardiola isn't just motivating his own players, he's also upping the pressure on Liverpool to be perfect.

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Taking Liverpool's results for granted could serve to motivate the Reds' opponents to try that much harder to play spoiler in this race.

In fairness, though, it's hardly surprising Guardiola thinks his team has the advantage when City have a game in hand.

Aside from having an extra match to play, Guardiola also believes title-winning experience will prove decisive for the defending champions: "Why should I not trust them to continue [handling the nerves]? For a month in the Premier League we've known it'd be almost impossible ... no, possible but very difficult, to win the title if we dropped points."

City certainly coped with the pressure against Palace. Despite being fortunate to draw 0-0 at the same venue last season, the visitors moved the ball with pace, assurance and intuition.

Two typically slick passing moves ended with former Liverpool winger Raheem Sterling finding the net. The first involved a superb defence-splitting pass from Kevin De Bruyne.

While the Belgian playmaker has endured an injury-plagued campaign so far, Guardiola is still well aware of his value, per AS: "He has the ability and the vision to see passes the rest of us human beings can't see."

Luka Milivojevic got one back for Palace from a free-kick late on. However, City's ample attacking resources produced another goal when De Bruyne set substitute Gabriel Jesus clear in the final minute.

City looked as good as last season when they became the first team to win the title with 100 points. Guardiola applauded his team's consistency to reach similar standards in this campaign.

One reason to believe City can meet the lofty targets their manager is setting is the sheer strength in depth in attacking areas.

Jesus is a capable deputy to Sergio Aguero, arguably the best centre-forward in the division. Meanwhile, Sterling, Leroy Sane and Riyad Mahrez can all score and create goals from wide areas.

There's even an embarrassment of riches in central midfield, where De Bruyne, David Silva, Ilkay Gundogan and Bernardo Silva can each unlock the best defences.

It's no wonder this group is setting new standards in front of goal:

Keeping pace with this kind of firepower won't be easy for Liverpool. The Reds' better hope may be to count on City becoming fatigued as Guardiola's players continue to pursue an historic quadruple of trophies.

City have already secured the Carabao Cup and have earned a place in the FA Cup final against Watford on Saturday, 18 May, at Wembley Stadium. The UEFA Champions League is proving elusive, with City facing a home tie against Tottenham Hotspur in the quarter-final on Wednesday, trailing 1-0 from the first leg.

Liverpool are also still in Europe's top club competition, but manager Jurgen Klopp can take confidence from his team's remaining domestic fixtures:

The Reds face two teams in the bottom three, including already relegated Huddersfield Town. By contrast, City host third-place Spurs on 20 April, then face Manchester United in the derby at Old Trafford four days later for the all-important game in hand.

Signs point to Liverpool winning the race, but Guardiola is backing his players and their "incredible personality," per Fifield, to answer the challenge.