Lijnders encourages Manchester City to increase pressure on Arsenal amid title race tensions

Manchester Citys assistant coach Pep Lijnders has encouraged the team to intensify the challenge against Arsenal, as the current Premier League frontrunners appear to falter slightly in their pursuit of the championship.

City will face Tottenham on Sunday, positioned only four points adrift of Arsenal following the Gunners recent streak of three games without a victory.

Mikel Artetas squad, set to visit Leeds on Saturday, suffered a defeat to Manchester United last week, adding to the disappointment of scoreless stalemates with Liverpool and Nottingham Forest.

Citys triumph over relegation threatened Wolves at the weekend maintained their close pursuit of Arsenal.

We must apply pressure and stay right behind them so they sense our presence. With any luck, we can ramp it up, Lijnders remarked to journalists on Friday.

It comes down to our performance. I have participated in several title contests. The key is always securing victories in your upcoming fixtures.

Lijnders managed the media obligations for City on Friday, standing in for head coach Pep Guardiola, who skipped the briefing due to a private matter.

Guardiola delivered an address advocating for Palestinian youth at a fundraising event in Barcelona on Thursday and is anticipated to lead training sessions with City on Saturday.

He rejoins the squad deeply immersed in the title contention, aiming for the seventh Premier League title under his leadership during his time with the club. They lost the crown to Liverpool in the previous campaign.

Lijnders is experiencing his debut season at City, yet he brings knowledge of high stakes competitions from his role as Jurgen Klopps deputy at Liverpool.

The Dutch coach views the current Premier League quality as surpassing the era when Liverpool and City vied for dominance.

The league is remarkably intense right now, with every team displaying fierce determination and exceptional attacking prowess, he commented.

Even with 97 points alongside Liverpool, we fell short against City. We need to target the highest possible tally and avoid further setbacks. 

Jeremy Doku could miss around two weeks of action after the Belgian forward encountered a calf issue during Citys Champions League success over Galatasaray on Wednesday.

That 2-0 result ensured Citys direct progression to the knockout stage.

It resembles his previous injury, which sidelined him for 18 days. I expect this recovery to be somewhat quicker. Jeremy is quite resilient, so we will monitor his progress, Lijnders noted.

He also voiced solidarity with Ruben Dias following the burglary at the City defenders residence earlier this week.