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Soccer

Pep Guardiola wary of "physical" Monaco threat

Pep Guardiola won't be looking past Manchester City's upcoming Premier League tie with Bournemout...



Pep Guardiola wary of "phy...
Soccer

Pep Guardiola wary of "physical" Monaco threat

Pep Guardiola won't be looking past Manchester City's upcoming Premier League tie with Bournemouth, but admits he has been keeping an eye on Champions League opponents Monaco.

The Manchester City boss was able to enjoy back-to-back league wins for the first time since December after his side scraped past Swansea City at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

City face into consecutive away ties against Eddie Howe's side and then against Huddersfield Town in the FA Cup. 

Three days after this, they take on Ligue 1 leaders Monaco in the first of their Champions League Round of 16 first leg tie.

"We have eight or nine days until next Monday against Bournemouth," he said during a press conference this week.

"So we have time to see Bournemouth and start to see Monaco, but my impression [of Monaco] against PSG and what I've seen is that they're a really strong team, they score a lot of goals, they are physical.

"We have to go to the gym in the next days."

PSG's Adrien Rabiot, right, challenges for the ball with Monaco's Radamel Falcao during their League One soccer match, at the Parc des Princes stadium, in Paris last month. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

Threat

Monaco hold a three-point lead over rivals Paris Saint-Germain in the French top-flight and have scored more than 100 goals so far this season.

Guardiola will also be wary of the threat carried by Radamel Falcao. Despite ill-fated loan spells at Manchester United and Chelsea, the Colombian has enjoyed a spectacular return to form this season with 14 goals in 13 league starts.

Monaco have won 10 of their last 12 games in all competitions and scored 14 goals in their last five Ligue 1 outings.

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