“He has done…” – Pep Guardiola makes Roberto De Zerbi admission amid Liverpool and Bayern Munich managerial takeover talks | OneFootball

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has issued fresh praise for Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi ahead Thursday’s visit to the AMEX Stadium.

Pep Guardiola’s side visit the AMEX in midweek bidding to move to within one point of current league leaders Arsenal, with the Gunners having played two more games than the Sky Blues ahead of the final weeks of the Premier League campaign.

Manchester City return to league action after last weekend’s Emirates FA Cup semi-final win over Chelsea, with the Cityzens’ trip to Brighton the first of seven remaining matches for the treble-winners.

City are unbeaten in their last 29 matches across all competitions, and beat Brighton 2-1 at the Etihad Stadium in October, after first-half goals from both Julian Alvarez and Erling Haaland.

The Seagulls are six points adrift of 6th placed Newcastle United ahead of Thursday’s clash, with Roberto De Zerbi’s side chasing European football for the 2024/25 campaign, with Brighton having qualified for the UEFA Europa League last season, the first time in the club’s history.

The Italian coach’s future at the AMEX has been thrown in recent doubt, with the 44-year-old heavily linked with the vacant Liverpool, Bayern Munich and Barcelona jobs ahead of next season.

De Zerbi has also previously been earmarked as a potential successor to Guardiola in east Manchester, with the Blues boss out of contract at the Etihad Stadium in 2025.

Guardiola lauded the success of the Brighton manager ahead of Thursday’s Premier League clash, saying: “My admiration is growing up every season. They had a lot of problems, important players was out, like (Levi) Colwill, (Alexis) Mac Allister, (Moises) Caicedo.

“They are really, really important players for Brighton, they’ve had a lot of injuries, they play three competitions, but the way they play always is there, always is there.

“He has done, is doing, an incredible job in Brighton.”

De Zerbi, who played for AC Milan during his playing career, managed Shakhtar Donetsk in Ukraine and Sassuolo in Italy prior to moving to the English south coast.