Enzo Maresca gives defiant response to Arsenal title race and Man City relegation concern

Enzo Maresca has spoken to the press ahead of Manchester City's clash against Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday evening.

Enzo Maresca has insisted that he and the Manchester City squad remain focused on topping the Premier League table.

If Arsenal fail to defeat Leeds United at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday afternoon, the Citizens will remain first in the English top flight, regardless of what happens when they face Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday evening. Manchester City are expected to receive a particularly hostile reception in Merseyside, though.

During the international break, an independent commission found the club guilty of all charges related to breaches of the Premier League's financial rules over a nine-season period, spanning 2009/10 to 2017/18, as well as the majority of charges related to its failure to co-operate with the investigation.

Manchester City lodged an appeal at the start of October. Speaking to reporters ahead of this weekend's clash, the former Chelsea boss leapt to the defence of his players, insisting that he and his players remain focused on staying top of the table.

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"Viewing the environment in the last few days, I am not worried," said Maresca, as quoted by the Manchester Evening News. "In this moment, we are top, and the players have every reason to be happy and excited."

Maresca added: "It is a matter of being together, stick together. In this moment, this is the situation, the noise. We are on the same page. As I said yesterday, we need our fans, and hopefully we can celebrate a win.

"Ruben [Dias] and Erling [Haaland] need to handle the pressure. Yes, the noise is there, they go home happy and are top of the league."

When asked whether he would resign, Maresca replied: "I will speak about this when we win the appeal. No sense to speak about anything. I understand why you are here because you want to hear something."

On what he would do if Manchester City were hit with a significant points deduction and subsequently relegated from the Premier League, the Italian said: "I won the Championship with Leicester, League One, we will see."

On the charges overshadowing the season, Maresca said: "You cannot avoid it, we completely understand the seriousness of the situation. It is our duty, our job to focus on the games."

On dealing with the hostile reception at Anfield, he said: "It will be a tough game, tough test. We need to be ready. The focus has to be about the team; it may be even worse because of the situation.

"They can absolutely face the pressure. We have players who have faced similar [atmospheres]. We have Enzo Fernandez. In Argentina, it is like this every game."

And on how the staff have managed in light of the guilty verdicts, Maresca said: "Just try to manage the noise. We understand the seriousness of the situation, the noise. We just need to manage that. We have to go to Anfield and win the game."