Pep Guardiola said there is no way Manchester City will be taking Chelsea lightly when the two sides meet in a Premier League encounter at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
City and Chelsea have been English football's two most successful clubs over the past 10 seasons; City have won six league titles in that time and Chelsea two, while the London side have also lifted the FA Cup, League Cup, Europa League, Champions League, and Fifa Club World Cup trophies.
City have captured an additional nine major trophies in the last decade, including six League Cups, two FA Cups, and last season's Champions League as part of their historic treble season.
However, the two heavyweights have been in vastly different positions recently. City sit top of the league table as they aim to win a fourth straight title, while Chelsea continue their rebuild under Mauricio Pochettino and lie in 10th having placed 12th last season in their worst league finish in almost 30 years.
Despite the current gulf between City and Chelsea, Guardiola insisted the Blues are one of the strongest teams in the division and he is wary of the threat they will pose at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
"Chelsea remain one of the most important teams in England," he said. "They won the Champions League under [Thomas] Tuchel against us [in 2021]. It's true they were not close to winning the Premier League in these seasons but they are one of the strongest teams, no doubt.
"I've seen the last games. They are alive, they have a good spirit, they're aggressive and have good patterns. The quality is there. It's one of the toughest games we have during the season.
"At the same time we will go there optimistic. We have to try to maintain the level of our game but sooner or later Chelsea will be there fighting for titles, no doubt about that."
Chelsea enter Sunday's game following Monday's chaotic 4-1 win over nine-man Tottenham Hotspur – only their fourth win in 11 league games, but a morale-boosting victory nonetheless.
While the win over his former club provided a much-needed three points, Pochettino is aware that Chelsea will face what he described as the "best team in the world". That said, the Argentine insisted Chelsea should never have an underdog mentality given the club's recent history of success.
"For me [City] are the best team, have the best coaching staff and the best manager," Pochettino said. "We need to tell the truth – it is one of the best organisations in the world.
"When you have the results you are showing it's because from the top to the bottom you are doing things really, really well.
"Chelsea never have that feeling of being an underdog," he added. "The feeling is always 'you are Chelsea'. It is impossible, the history is there. But I think we cannot go and say 'we are the big team of the day' on Sunday.
"We need to go there trying to be protagonists, with our personality, with our character."
Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Opening Rugby Championship fixtures:Games can be watched on OSN Sports
Saturday: Australia v New Zealand, Sydney, 1pm (UAE)
Sunday: South Africa v Argentina, Port Elizabeth, 11pm (UAE)
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Producers: Uniglobe Entertainment & Vision Films
Director: Namrata Singh Gujral
Cast: Rajkummar Rao, Nargis Fakhri, Bo Derek, Candy Clark
Rating: 2/5
Timeline
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The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
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The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
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Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
Huroob Ezterari
Director: Ahmed Moussa
Starring: Ahmed El Sakka, Amir Karara, Ghada Adel and Moustafa Mohammed
Three stars
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Dr Ayham Ammora, scientist and business executive
Ali Azeem, business leader
Tony Booth, professor of education
Lord Browne, former BP chief executive
Dr Mohamed El-Erian, economist
Professor Wyn Evans, astrophysicist
Dr Mark Mann, scientist
Gina MIller, anti-Brexit campaigner
Lord Smith, former Cabinet minister
Sandi Toksvig, broadcaster
