MANCHESTER, England -- Pep Guardiola doesn't know if Manchester City can catch Liverpool but says they must start by beating them on Thursday night.
The two sides meet at the Etihad Stadium with third-placed City desperate to defeat unbeaten Liverpool and cut the gap at the top of the Premier League to just four points.
"Honestly, I don't know," Guardiola told a news conference when asked if City can catch Jurgen Klopp's side. "That is the point. What do I think? Yes, we are ready. I don't have doubts but honestly I don't know.
"It's the same as when we had a 10 or 11-point [lead, last season], if you asked me if we would maintain that distance for a long time, I don't know.
"I have a game in my mind, I know what we want to do. I will speak with the players. That is what I feel but I am not good enough to anticipate what is going to happen."
The City boss believes his side have to get used to the pressure of being the favourites if they are to become the successful club they have not always historically been, but says his players have all the fighting qualities.
"If people think last season was everything comfortable, sweet and easy, just because we make a lot of points, that is a big mistake," Guardiola added. "We fought a lot, we had lot of problems but we overcame those situations.
"How we react, even 3-0 down in the Champions League game in the second half [at Anfield]. They don't have to convince me about [how] they react in bad moments. Even in the first season, when there was a tough series of results, we never gave up, never. We reacted and came back.
"If it is different pressure, we have to live it. We have to handle it. Maybe people expected we would always be top but we are Manchester City, we are not Liverpool or Manchester United. We are Man City. In that situation, it is quite usual in the history. That is why it is nice after what we have achieved in the last decade to still be up there."
A win for Liverpool would see them take a huge step towards their first English title in 29 years. Guardiola says it is understandable if Klopp's players had a greater hunger at the start of the season but says his squad must be ready if the pressure gets too much for their rivals.
"My feeling is last season it was a little bit easier to maintain that hunger because 80 percent of the players had not won anything in our lives," he added. "I can feel what they feel -- the Liverpool players. After 29 years not winning the Premier League, to be there to win the Premier League. I understand.
"And I said to the players, that's the difficult [thing] to handle that. That is why in this season it is [important to] maintain form and [remain] there for as long as possible."