Guardiola brushes off scrappy win over Leeds before Fulham test

A round of midweek matches in the Premier League kicks off with three games on Tuesday.

Manchester City has a vital and difficult visit to Craven Cottage to face Mauro Silva's Fulham that has climbed up to 15th place with consecutive wins, including Saturday's 2-1 victory away to Tottenham.

Manchester City's head coach Pep Guardiola (R) celebrates with Gianluigi Donnarumma after the English Premier League match between Manchester City FC and Liverpool FC in Manchester, Britain, on Nov. 9, 2025. (Xinhua)

Manchester City won 3-2 at home to Leeds United on Saturday, but Guardiola still needs to see more defensive rigor from his side who allowed Leeds back into the match after leading 2-0 at halftime, before Phil Foden won the points with a late winner.

Guardiola gave a tetchy press conference on Monday that only lasted two minutes, but he did have praise for Fulham.

"Their organization is exceptional," he said of Tuesday's rival.

"Every year, I have a feeling that with the ball they are better and even better. Tough, tough opponent. I saw their games these days, yesterday and today - against Chelsea, against Arsenal, last games against Sunderland. They're always so difficult for the opponent to break up," he commented.

A run of three defeats and a draw has seen Bournemouth drop from the top-floor into mid-table and coach Andoni Iraola needs an improvement after seeing his players allow a 2-0 lead away to Sunderland slide into a 3-2 defeat.

Everton travels to the south coast after suffering a first-half blitz at home to Newcastle United in a 4-1 defeat on Saturday.

Newcastle wants to build on that win at home to Tottenham, whose coach Thomas Frank is under increasing pressure after defeat at home to Fulham.

"I hope it can be a turning point, but every side we face is different and Tottenham is a good team," commented Newcastle coach, Eddie Howe in his pre-game press conference.

Frank will take some confidence from the fact that his side is getting better results away from home, although another defeat will see his future thrown into doubt.

League leader Arsenal is at home to Brentford on Wednesday, while Chelsea visits a Leeds United side that is slipping deeper into relegation danger.