Pep Guardiola believes there is less pressure on players in the Premier League than in La Liga or in the Bundesliga.

City are currently in fourth place in the Premier League with 64 points.

“Sometimes when you realize you cannot lose, when you feel the pressure, the real pressure because you would be so criticised, the players make a step forward,” Guardiola said.

“Do the players believe they cannot lose? If you want to become a stronger club and a stronger team you cannot drop points at home; because our quality is higher we cannot drop points. The difference is the mentality, not the quality, which is always there.

“Here I miss a little bit the pressure. In Spain, especially in Germany, the pressure is higher to the players, to the manager, to everybody – here it is calm.

“For example, we were out of the Champions League in Monaco, we played three tough games against Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea, so we did not win one game but our game against Hull City, our supporters [cheering] helped us and supported us and in Italy and Spain that does not happen.”