Guardiola: Palace will test both Man City and Arsenal in title race

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola is pictured during the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester City and Brentford at Etihad Stadium. Martin Rickett/PA Wire/dpa

Pep Guardiola expects Manchester City to be tested by Crystal Palace – and is confident they will prove equally tough for title rivals Arsenal.

City need to win their rearranged clash against the Eagles on Wednesday to keep the pressure on the Gunners at the top of the Premier League table.

Oliver Glasner’s side could have a big role to play in the title race as they also face Arsenal in the final round of fixtures.

However, as Palace also have the Europa Conference League final to prepare for after that game, Glasner could rotate his team.

The Austrian has even hinted at as much by saying: “I’m responsible for Crystal Palace and I get paid for doing the best things for Crystal Palace and not for City and not for Arsenal.”

Guardiola, though, expects Palace to remain difficult opponents, regardless of the players selected.

He said: “They are so professional. Crystal Palace will play top against us.

“We saw Leeds against Spurs yesterday, how they are now out of the relegation battle, but how they compete.

“We’ve played here against Aston Villa and in the past when they had nothing to play for and saw how difficult it was.