PEP GUARDIOLA is losing sleep trying to handle his first crisis at Manchester City. And the Etihad boss says rivals are “taking the p” out of his faltering Prem champions. City visit runaway

In the last two summers, City have postponed much of the rebuild; two of the six recruits in that time are now in the band of 30-somethings. And while Guardiola said it was harder to be stable defensively without a quartet of centre backs and two holding midfielders, arguably he only has one: Mateo Kovacic does not covet that role.