Pep believes City ready to go again after 'sweating' to catalyst win at Luton

Guardiola eyes winning run to chase down leaders

- SIMON BAJKOWSKI

KENILWORTH Road, with its' quaint away end, wooden seats and tiny dressing room had all the makings of an upset for City last week.

The wind and rain was howling, City were reeling themselves after four games without a win, Erling Haaland was injured, and the home fans sensed something special could happen against the bruised defending champions having taken Arsenal until the 96th minute days before.

A huge flag in the corner of the old main stand at Luton read: 'Luton Town, Betrayed by the FA 2008, with the Hatters' songbook still not forgiving the FA and EFL for their massive 30-point deduction that saw them, unsurprisingly, relegated from League Two in the same year City became the richest club in the world.

The sense of an upset, in as close to a cup atmosphere as it's possible to get in the Premier League, increased when Luton took the lead last Sunday.

But City hit back, did what they needed to to win, and have since put that blip behind them. Guardiola saw a quality he liked last week, and one of his captains believes their relentless winning machine is close to starting up again.

"I like the feeling that going to Luton Town is extremely complicated," Guardiola said on Friday after City followed up their win at Kenilworth Road with a fine win against Red Star with a second-string side.