Our players will not disappoint us, says Pep | OneFootball

Pep Guardiola says his City side are determined to defend our Premier League crown in the coming season.

We have set an English top-flight record by lifting the title in each of the last four seasons but the manager is hungry for a fifth success this year.

Guardiola and his squad are currently in New York as part of our pre-season tour, with a match against Italian giants AC Milan at the Yankee Stadium to come this weekend.

Many of our international stars are still to return after playing at Euro 2024 with the Community Shield in just over a fortnight and the Premier League’s start date now three weeks away.

How to watch City v AC Milan on TV

When they do return, Guardiola is confident his players will again give their all in the 2024/25 campaign as we seek to add to our magnificent trophy haul of recent years.

“We are talking when we are together about our aims. But knowing the players I think they will not disappoint us,” he said.

“They will continue to do what they do. I know we are the rivals to be beaten. When you see seven years and six Premier Leagues, everyone wants to beat us.

“We will do what we do. We see it’s a long competition - we try to do what we want to do. We want to defend our crown properly.

“We won a lot in the last years - we will see how they come back. I will see some gestures, body language and we will see. Right now, I don’t know.”

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City face a mammoth 2024/25 campaign, with six trophies up for grabs over the next 12 months.

The Catalan says that is a key factor in deciding how much time off to give his players who have been involved in this summer’s international tournaments.

“I said for them to come back when they have the desire to touch a ball again,” he said.

“If you don't feel it, stay at home. Because it’s so long. Maybe some days before or after the Community Shield. That’s the plan.

“We will suggest they do something before they arrive.

“I am more concerned they have energy and are happy to be in the locker room and training sessions.

“Then we say come back and welcome. I don't want them to come back exhausted. It’s better if they stay at home a few more days.”

USA Tour 2024

City are still to face AC Milan, Barcelona and Chelsea during the Club’s pre-season tour of the United States.

As always, mancity.com and the official app are the best places to keep across all things City during our time in the US.

Including pre-match press conferences and live open training as well as detailed and varied in-game and post-friendly coverage of all our fixtures, our website and app provide fans with a complete City experience, all from one handy place.

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All US Tour matches will be broadcast live on CITY+ in the following countries: United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Japan, Norway, Sweden and United Arab Emirates.

To access these matches from one of the locations listed above, you will need an active CITY+ subscription. Those same restrictions will apply to full-match replays and Pitcam highlights.

SUBSCRIBE TO CITY+

For fans living outside of the countries named, we will have a full explainer article on how to tune in coming in due course.

Subscribers will be able to watch on the official app and mancity.com, with the option to cast matches onto their TV from mobile devices. Find out how to do this via our handy guide here.

For more information on CITY+, including subscription prices, click here.