Huddersfield boss David Wagner says there is no secret to stopping Manchester City

By Husmukh Kerai

David Wagner discusses why Huddersfield were the only side to stop Manchester City scoring at the Etihad last season.

Huddersfield Town manager David Wagner says he does not have any secrets on how to stop Manchester City.

The Terriers take on City at the Etihad on Sunday, live on Sky Sports Premier League, while holding the distinction of being the only side to prevent Pep Guardiola's men from scoring at their home ground in the league last season.

Huddersfield earned a 0-0 draw against the champions in Manchester at the end of last season and were only narrowly beaten 2-1 at the John Smith's Stadium in the reverse fixture in November 2017.

Image: Manchester City were held to a 0-0 draw by Huddersfield at the Etihad last season

Speaking at his pre-match media conference, Wagner insisted there is no secret to his relative success against Guardiola and admitted his team need luck to be on their side.

He said: "You like to test yourselves against the best - Manchester City are the best - and we will try and make it an uncomfortable afternoon for them.

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"You have to be, more than ever, forcused on yourself instead of your opponent. You have to prepare every player as much as you can and be tight in your gameplan.

"We have the experience that in these games, you can get results and we will fight for the chance. We have to be at our best. We have to be brave too and trust our abilities and our skills.

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"But in these games you need the small margins to go in your favour. We saw it against Chelsea last week when the deflection carried the ball in and we hit the post in the offence."

Image: David Wagner's record as Huddersfield manager against Pep Guardiola's Manchester City

Huddersfield will go into Sunday's clash with little expectation of getting a win and Wagner says they are now used to playing as the underdogs.

He added: "More or less for three years we have been underdogs every single weekend - that won't change. But it is possible to get a result in these games. You cannot count on it, but we will fight for it."

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Wagner also said he and his team are unaffected by accusations that they 'park the bus' to get results.

He said: "Everybody knows what we have done, what we are capable of and what we are not capable of.

"How different teams and managers collect their points, nobody should care. If it means we collect points when we park the bus then let's do it. If we do it in a different way, let's do it."

Image: Mathias Jorgensen has been ruled out of Sunday's game

Mathias Jorgensen has been ruled out of Sunday's game after sustaining a muscle injury during training this week.

Midfielder Jonathan Hogg is doubtful due to a hip problem and will be monitored ahead of the game.

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