Man City Boss Claims He's Focusing on Wilfried Zaha Rather Than Record Ahead of Crystal Palace Clash

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has claimed that he's focusing on stopping Crystal Palace star Wilfried Zaha, rather than beating his personal win record, ahead of the two sides' Premier League clash. 

The former Barcelona boss in just one win away from equaling his consecutive win record at Bayern Munich - where the club won 19 games on the trot under Guardiola.

Speaking ahead of the New Year's Eve match, via ITV, Guardiola faced the inevitable questions regarding his side's impressive winning streak, but claimed he was more focused on planning to stop the Eagles' forward Zaha rather than breaking records. 

Guardiola said: "I'm not here to comment on the record. It's simple to say, 'Yes or no, do we break it or not?'. That is not what counts. What counts is what we have to do against Palace, and what we have to do against their four amazing strikers.

"I'm really impressed with what Zaha is able to do. When he was not on the pitch, Crystal Palace were not able to win. In the first nine games, Zaha was not there, but when he came back in, the team changed. 

"He is a guy who can turn the game. He's won a lot of points by himself. That's what I have to be concerned about."

Manchester City have stormed to the top of the table in the first half of the Premier League season - laying waste to their opposition by winning 19 out of 20 matches in a phenomenal unbeaten run.