Sunderland face Man City in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon.
Manchester City boss Enzo Maresca has admitted that he expects his side’s clash with Sunderland this weekend to be their “toughest” of the season so far.
Aside from a Community Shield defeat at the hands of Arsenal, the Italian has made an unbeaten start to life at the Etihad, winning all four of his Premier League fixtures so far, while also overseeing victories against FC Porto in the Champions League and Norwich City in the Carabao Cup.
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For their part, Sunderland have taken four points from their opening four games in the Premier League, but put in an impressive display in a 2-0 loss to defending champions Arsenal last Saturday, and picked up a memorable 1-0 win over AZ Alkmaar in the Europa League in midweek.
And despite his team’s positive momentum, Maresca is under no illusions as to the challenge the Black Cats can pose when they make the trip to Manchester on Sunday afternoon.
Speaking in a press conference ahead of the contest, he said: “I watched them already in the last two days, three or four games. I know them already. I know how strong they are, and I have the feeling that on Sunday we need a top performance to beat them, and we need to be 100% to win the game.
“I watched the game live against Arsenal, and then I watched again the last two days. If you watch the game, you can realise how strong they are. I think personally that they didn’t deserve to lose that game.
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“But again, they are very strong, very well-coached from their manager. And again, they are already have time together, so you can see what they want to do on the ball and off the ball. My feeling is, after watching them, is that on Sunday it will be the toughest game since the start of the season. If you watch them, you are not surprised [at how well they have done], because you will realise how good they are, how good they are on the ball, off the ball, how aggressive they are, the amount of duels that they win every game.
“So, yeah, if you’re just thinking about, the team got promoted and then [qualify for] Europe, you are surprised - but if you watch them, you are not surprised because you realise how good they are. But in front of our fans, it’s always nice and special to play, so much better to play here than away. It’s important because in case we win, it’s one more win. But as I say, I have the feeling that Sunderland game will be the toughest game since we started the season.”
Elsewhere, Maresca provided an injury update on Belgian winger Jeremy Doku, suggesting that the attacking talent could be in line to make his first appearance since City’s Community Shield loss back in August. The wide man registered eight goals and 14 assists across 47 outings in all competitions last term, and speaking about his probable comeback, Maresca said: “Probably he can be available for Sunderland.”
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