The China Mail - Man City 'apparently' not Champions League contenders: Guardiola

City have regularly reached the sharp end of Europe's top club competition in recent years, winning the trophy for the first time in 2023.

They suffered a painful early exit last season, losing to 15-time champions Madrid in a two-legged play-off with a place in the knockout stages at stake.

According to the bookmakers Liverpool, Barcelona, Arsenal and defending champions Paris Saint-Germain are all considered more likely winners of this season's Champions League.

Guardiola was asked at his pre-match press conference on Wednesday whether he saw City as contenders.

"Apparently, we are not," he said. "And (we must) just enjoy the moment, the journey. We are happy to be here.

"In the past, we have been. We just won once, so that is a lot of difficulty. (We are) Just focusing tomorrow on the game we have to play, starting this competition well."

City are intent on making their mark after finishing last season without a trophy for the first time in eight years.

They started the Premier League season slowly, with two defeats in their first three games, but bounced back to crush Manchester United 3-0 on Sunday.

Guardiola has rebuilt his squad over the past two transfer windows, with a clutch of long-serving players exiting the club, including Kevin De Bruyne, Ilkay Gundogan and Ederson.

Thursday's game against the Italian champions will feature an emotionally charged return to the Etihad for De Bruyne, who joined Napoli in June after a 10-year trophy-laden stint in Manchester.

Guardiola said he was looking forward to seeing the midfielder but only "after the game"

The City boss said it was no surprise that De Bruyne had settled quickly in Italy.

"The players in that level don't need much time to adapt and perform well," he said, praising his former player's "talent and vision".

City's new goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma also spoke to reporters on the eve of the match against Napoli, underlining that the club had been his top choice.

The Italy international won the Champions League with PSG in May but was deemed surplus to requirements by the French club, completing a £26-million ($36 million) deadline-day switch to City.

"My desire was to come here," said Donnarumma, who has replaced Ederson as first-choice goalkeeper. "That was my first and only option, the only thing I wanted."

B.Chan--ThChM