Pep Guardiola on first ever visit to Stoke City: "Let's go!"

"Can he do it in a cold, rainy night at Stoke?" is one of the biggest clichés in football, but it's also true. Visiting the Britannia/bet365 Stadium to face Stoke City is no easy task for any football team/coach/player, and even for the best manager in the world, it's hard too.

Pep Guardiola spoke to the press ahead of his first ever visit to Stoke as a manager, and even though he doesn't quite know what to expect, including the pitch and weather conditions, the Catalan is more than ready to go.

“We are going to try to fight for the title so we are going to try to adapt. We’re not going to complain that the pitch isn’t good. It’s 11 v 11 on the pitch.

“In Germany, we didn’t always play on sunny days. We played in tough conditions as well there – in Spain, in Pamplona, in San Sebastian for example, the conditions are tough. We’re going to play in those conditions and OK, we’ll do it."

Guardiola also spoke about his ideas for team selection, and after the fantastic victory and performance in Romania against Steaua Bucharest, he doesn't want to change and hopes to build on the great things done in the Champions League match:

“It’s not time to change a lot because I don’t want to confuse my players but I have to say, I am impressed the most that they are so intelligent.

"The way we played in Bucharest was a high, high level. We did it so quickly. That’s because of the intelligence and quality of the players. The players they move depending on the move of their teammates really good and that’s not easy.”

Source: ManCity.com