Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has refused to answer a question about Liverpool’s squad depth and likened the Premier League to the NBA after a faltering start to the season by the established title rivals.

The Reds have triumphed on both occasions when Guardiola’s City have not been champions during the past eight campaigns, but the holders are seven points shy of leaders Arsenal and one behind the Cityzens ahead of the 10th round of top-flight matches this weekend.

Pep Guardiola on Arne Slot’s comments:

“You will not have my headlines in the Daily Mail!” pic.twitter.com/TuCqvvYFVD

— Hayters TV (@HaytersTV) October 31, 2025

“You will not have my headlines in the Daily Mail,” Guardiola said after shaking his head in response to a request to compare City and Liverpool’s squads.

“I’m sorry. You will not have it.”

Pep Guardiola: Premier League ‘like NBA’

After leading Liverpool to the 2025/26 title in his first season in charge, Liverpool manager Arne Slot is under pressure following a sixth defeat in seven matches in all competitions with a 3-0 loss at home to Crystal Palace in the EFL Cup on Wednesday.

Slot defended playing a much-weakened team after the thrashing and repeated his suggestion that he has a relatively small squad to choose from despite lavish spending, although the Dutchman added on Friday that he is “completely happy” with his team and “all the quality we have”.

“I saw City’s line-up with no weekend starters but it looked like their best team… Chelsea can bring in Estevão and we finished with six under-19s” 👀

Arne Slot on Liverpool’s 3-0 defeat to Crystal Palace 🔴 pic.twitter.com/FYAaz7Okb3

— BeanymanSports (@BeanymanSports) October 30, 2025