Manchester City are 'guaranteed' to lose possession against Fulham if they play long balls to striker Aleksandar Mitrovic, Pep Guardiola has warned.
So the City manager has told his players to focus on winning second balls if they want to minimise Mitrovic's impact on Saturday against the Cottagers in the Premier League.
With Erling Haaland potentially back in contention, Mitrovic is another prolific striker this season, with nine goals to his name so far as Fulham sit seventh in the Premier League following promotion under Marco Silva. With an opening day draw against Liverpool and some other eye-catching results to their name, Fulham are a side that Guardiola is definitely not taking lightly.
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"I'm not surprised at all, they are seventh," Guardiola said of Fulham. "See what they did in Championship and the transfer market, the manager is exceptional. Last season in the FA Cup we suffered. They have a good process in behind. Under pressure they can use long balls to Mitrovic, or second balls for them. A top, good team, no surprise. They start well with a draw against Liverpool and continued that way."
Asked if having Haaland back in City training can help prepare his defenders for the challenge Mitrovic will pose them on Saturday, Guardiola said his squad have had no time to prepare following Wednesday's Champions League win over Sevilla.
And he added that Mitrovic's aerial ability is so impressive, that City will have to concentrate on recovering his knock-downs rather than battling for the ball in the air with the Serbian.
Guardiola said: "We don't have time, we played two days ago, recovery yesterday, we're tired. Some players who didn't play will play tomorrow. The players know, they have played them in the past. Long balls to Mitrovic there's a big guarantee we'll lose the ball. Prepare for the second one.
"He's a dangerous player, how many goals did he score last season, people say 'oh it's the Championship' but he's s scoring goals in the Premier League. He's natural, a competitor, he pushes defenders to limits and he's clinical. In the box he's very good."
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