Pep Guardiola insisted consistency is the only reason for Manchester City's sizeable lead at the Premier League summit, as he hailed the "exceptional" nature of his side and their long-time rivals Liverpool.

City host Chelsea on Saturday as first take on second, though Guardiola's side currently hold a 10-point advantage, with Liverpool 11 behind in third place.

Following their 1-0 win at Stamford Bridge earlier this season, City are looking to secure the Premier League double over Chelsea for the fourth time, previously doing so in 2009-10, 2015-16 and 2017-18.

They have won their last 11 Premier League games, their fifth such run of 11 or more consecutive victories in the competition.

However, despite his team's healthy lead, Guardiola does not believe Chelsea or Liverpool have dropped off. Instead, he credits City with finding another level of consistency.

"The Premier League is the strongest," he told reporters. 

"We are here now because we were consistent, especially in the toughest month in December, when there were many games and how we overcame the tough situations we had in the squad, problems with injuries and COVID.

"We got results playing really good, but also not good, like against Arsenal how we were able to win. We were consistent. This is the reason why, no secrets.

"My opinion about Liverpool and Chelsea does not change one bit. They are more than excellent teams. One is the champion of Europe, the other is the biggest rival in the last two, three, four seasons.

"Football changes quickly. What you have to do is rise and increase a bit our football compared to the last two teams we've played. We'll have to do it tomorrow to compete."

Guardiola then enthused about the continued level of performance of both City and Liverpool, who have had a thrilling rivalry in recent seasons, adding: "I have to say it was because Liverpool and City were exceptional, not because the others were wrong.

"[Manchester] United were close I remember one year with [Jose] Mourinho, and last season, but we were exceptional. What Liverpool and City have done in the last four years has never been seen before in this country.

"Antonio Conte with Chelsea started a little bit in my first season here but after that Liverpool and City made a step, and I think the other opponents did well, Chelsea, United, Tottenham, but Liverpool and City were out of this world.

"I'm proud, after six years together, five years of success, that in January we are competing in every single game. That is an incredible credit to these exceptional players. My job is to put my words behind them, tell them the truth, that's what I need to continue."

Guardiola did, however, hit out at the suggestion City had been fortunate with COVID-19, something which Liverpool's Virgil van Dijk and Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel both claimed.

"It's a situation that's all around the world. We've had injuries, COVID," said Guardiola, who was one of 21 members of City's squad to miss last week's FA Cup win over Swindon Town after testing positive.

"We had a lot of people with COVID. At the beginning of the season we've had a lot of incredibly tough injuries for our players. They believe we were lucky - okay, we were lucky. The thing is the pandemic is all around the world, we are exposed to the virus, we are not the exception.

"If they believe this is the reason why... maybe. Sometimes it's the money we have, sometimes it's COVID."

Saturday's game is just the second between City and Chelsea in the Premier League in which they are the top two teams. The other such match finished 1-1 in 2015.

After beating Liverpool 4-0 in July 2020, and Chelsea 1-0 earlier this season, City are looking to become the fourth English club to win three consecutive meetings with reigning European champions in all competitions, after Notts County (1982), Tottenham Hotspur (1983-84) and Everton (1984-85).

The Africa Cup of Nations continues on Saturday with two mouthwatering games from Group D.

After 10 of the first 14 games of this year's competition finished 1-0, it was a nice change of pace that none of the four clashes on Friday did, but all four of the teams playing on Saturday would no doubt happily take a 1-0 in their favour.

Nigeria will be looking to follow up their impressive opening 1-0 win (naturally) against Egypt when they face Sudan, while Mohamed Salah and the Pharaohs will be aiming to bounce back against Guinea-Bissau.

Nigeria v Sudan

These two nations are meeting for the third time at the Africa Cup of Nations, but it will be their first encounter at the tournament for 46 years. Sudan won the first match 4-0 in the 1963 group phase, while Nigeria won 1-0 in 1976.

The Super Eagles will be looking to continue their impressive AFCON record in recent times, having won 10 of their last 12 games (L2), keeping six clean sheets.

Following a goalless draw in their opening match against Guinea-Bissau, Sudan have now managed just one win in their last 14 AFCON games (D6 L7), dating back to the 1972 tournament.

After scoring the only goal of the game against Egypt, and in his very first Africa Cup of Nations game, Leicester City's Kelechi Iheanacho could become the first Nigerian player to net in his first two AFCON appearances since Emmanuel Emenike in January 2013.       

One to watch: Samuel Chukwueze

The Villarreal winger made four key passes against Egypt, more than twice as many as anyone else in the game. The 22-year-old has two goals and an assist from 12 appearances this season in LaLiga, as well as averaging one chance created per game.

Guinea-Bissau v Egypt

This will be the first AFCON encounter between Guinea-Bissau and Egypt, but neither side come into it with anything like good form.

Guinea-Bissau remain winless in their seven matches at AFCON (D3 L4) and could become the seventh side not to win any of their first eight matches in the competition after Angola, Benin, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia and Uganda.

Egypt have lost two consecutive AFCON games for the first time since 2002. In fact, they have lost three of their last six in the competition, more than in their previous 29 combined (W21 D6 L2).

Guinea-Bissau have failed to score in five consecutive AFCON games. The only side to ever go six without scoring in the competition was Kenya in 1990.

One to watch: Mohamed Salah

Salah seems like the obvious pick but then the Liverpool star has scored 16 goals in the Premier League this season, six more than anyone else, and will no doubt want to improve on the solitary shot he managed against Nigeria.

Gabon gave themselves a great chance of making the knockout stages of the Africa Cup of Nations thanks to Jim Allevinah's 88th-minute strike, which sealed a 1-1 draw with Ghana.

Once again shorn of talisman Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who missed out due to "cardiac lesions" after contracting COVID-19 last week, the Panthers fought back on Friday.

Andre Ayew had lashed four-time AFCON champions Ghana ahead in the 18th minute with a powerful shot on the turn from just outside Gabon's area.

It was a brilliant effort from the Black Stars' captain, who according to Opta had only a five per cent chance of converting the opportunity, but the venom on his shot got the better of Gabon goalkeeper Jean Noel Amonome.

Yet it was the only attempt Ghana managed to get on target and they were made to pay late on when a quick free-kick caught their defence cold, with substitute Allevinah drilling in a low finish.

Ayew's angry reaction at full-time resulted in a fracas on the pitch, with the referee then showing a post-match red card to Ghana's Benjamin Tetteh, who punched a Gabon player in the face before seemingly fleeing the scene.

Gabon are on four points in Group C, with leaders Morocco now through. Ghana, meanwhile, must beat Comoros to stand a chance of progressing.

If the All-Pro team is anything to go by, Aaron Rodgers is set to win the NFL MVP in a landslide.

The Associated Press announced the league's All-Pro team on Friday, the regular season having come to a dramatic conclusion last Sunday.

Rodgers, having enjoyed another stunning season for the NFC's top seed the Green Bay Packers, unsurprisingly was named as the first-team quarterback.

He earned 34 of the 50 votes and, with the same voters casting their ballots for MVP, Rodgers looks a shoo-in to claim that award for the fourth time.

One voter, Hub Arkush, had said he would not vote for Rodgers following a season in which the QB courted controversy after he tested positive for coronavirus having previously stated he was "immunised" against the virus when he is in fact not vaccinated.

But few look set to follow that lead and take their vote away from Rodgers on this evidence.

His team-mate and favourite target Davante Adams was one of five players to be unanimously named first-team All-Pro.

Adams was joined in that regard by Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp, NFL rushing champion Jonathan Taylor of the Indianapolis Colts, Pittsburgh Steelers edge rusher T.J. Watt and Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald.

All-Pro First Team in full:

OFFENSE

Quarterback: Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers

Running Back: Jonathan Taylor, Indianapolis Colts

Tight End: Mark Andrews, Baltimore Ravens

Wide Receivers: Davante Adams, Green Bay Packers; Cooper Kupp, Los Angeles Rams; Deebo Samuel, San Francisco 49ers

Left Tackle: Trent Williams, San Francisco 49ers

Right Tackle: Tristan Wirfs, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Left Guard: Joel Bitonio, Cleveland Browns

Right Guard: Zack Martin, Dallas Cowboys

Center: Jason Kelce, Philadelphia Eagles

DEFENSE

Edge Rushers: T.J. Watt, Pittsburgh Steelers; Myles Garrett, Cleveland Browns

Interior Lineman: Aaron Donald, Los Angeles Rams; Cameron Heyward, Pittsburgh Steelers

Linebackers: Micah Parsons, Dallas Cowboys; Darius Leonard, Indianapolis Colts; De'Vondre Campbell, Green Bay Packers

Cornerbacks: Trevon Diggs, Dallas Cowboys; Jalen Ramsey, Los Angeles Rams

Safeties: Kevin Byard, Tennessee Titans; Jordan Poyer, Buffalo Bills

SPECIAL TEAMS

Placekicker: Justin Tucker, Baltimore Ravens

Punter: A.J. Cole, Las Vegas Raiders

Kick Returner: Braxton Berrios, New York Jets

Punt Returner: Devin Duvernay, Baltimore Ravens

Special Teamer: J.T. Gray, New Orleans Saints

Long Snapper: Luke Rhodes, Indianapolis Colts

Arsenal have "reluctantly" asked the Premier League to postpone Sunday's north London derby against Tottenham due to their long list of absentees.

The Gunners are scheduled to make the short trip to do battle with their fierce rivals at Tottenham Hotspur three days after holding Liverpool to a goalless draw in the first leg of their EFL Cup semi-final.

Granit Xhaka will be suspended after he was sent off at Anfield on Thursday, while Cedric Soares and Bukayo Saka joined the injury list.

Arsenal have four players away on international duty at the Africa Cup of Nations, while another four missed the game on Merseyside due to injury and Martin Odegaard tested positive for COVID-19 prior to the game.

Head coach Mikel Arteta suggested in a press conference on Friday that Arsenal will struggle to fulfil the fixture against Antonio Conte's side.

Arsenal confirmed later in the day they have requested for the match to be rearranged.

A club statement said: "We can confirm we have made an application to the Premier League for the postponement of Sunday's north London derby against Tottenham Hotspur.

"We have reluctantly taken this step but we have many players currently unavailable across our squad as a result of Covid, injuries and players away with their countries at AFCON.

"We will provide more information as soon as it’s available."

In order for the encounter to not go ahead, Arsenal will need to prove they do not have 13 eligible outfield players and a goalkeeper among their first-team squad or "appropriately experienced Under-21 players",

Arteta told the media: "We had concerns already before the match against Liverpool, and after the game we had some more issues.

"We haven't been able to assess the squad yet because we couldn't fly last night, so we just arrived to the training ground and all the boys are being looked after. So we don't know."

Antonio Conte is set to take charge of his first north London derby on Sunday.

We say "is set to" rather than "will" because there does appear to be the possibility of the game being postponed due to Arsenal's growing list of absences, with the club reportedly requesting for it to be called off.

The Gunners were without as many as nine first-team players for Thursday's EFL Cup semi-final first-leg draw with Liverpool, and Mikel Arteta intimated they have further issues as a result of that match.

But, for the moment, the game is planned to go ahead as normal and Conte will surely be eager for it to do so, with Arsenal's predicament seemingly giving him the best possible chance to right some previous wrongs…

CONTE'S ARSENAL HOODOO

When you consider how good Conte's Chelsea were, it seems quite remarkable he could have such a poor record against any team.

But during his time at Stamford Bridge, Conte won just one of eight games against the Gunners, or 12.5 per cent.

Among the clubs he has faced at least five times across his managerial career, Conte does not have a worse win rate against anyone.

Spurs can perhaps take solace in the fact they have not lost yet under the Italian in the Premier League, though if they do lose on Sunday, Conte will be the first Tottenham manager to suffer his first top-flight defeat in a north London derby since Ossie Ardiles in August 1993.

KEY MEN RELISH A DERBY

In Harry Kane and Son Heung-min, Tottenham have two players with a track record of impacting north London derbies.

Son has had a hand in five goals across his previous four meetings with Arsenal (three goals, two assists), while Kane is, of course, this fixture's all-time leading scorer with 11 strikes in 16 games.

Nevertheless, Arsenal may have some confidence in keeping Kane at bay at least given he has not scored in his past two derbies – failure again will make it his worst drought in the fixture.

Further to that, Kane's record of 0.35 non-penalty expected goals (xG) per 90 minutes is bettered by as many as 15 players this season (minimum 500 minutes played) and he is under-performing that in terms of non-penalty goals (0.19 per 90 mins), suggesting he may not be the Mr. Reliable he once was.

YOUNG GUNS MADE OF THE WRIGHT STUFF?

While Arsenal's squad may have a little less derby pedigree, it would be fair to say they have a greater presence of youthful exuberance, with young players playing a prominent role for Arteta.

Arguably chief among them are Emile Smith Rowe and Bukayo Saka, who were both on the scoresheet when Arsenal beat Spurs 3-1 earlier this season.

No English player has scored in both north London derbies for Arsenal in the same year since, remarkably, Ian Wright in 1993-94.

Given the form of both players, there is a strong chance that run could end.

SAKA BACK ON TRACK

After dazzling at Euro 2020, some might have expected Saka to truly light up the Premier League this season. He perhaps has not quite reached that level, though his recent form has been excellent.

He has been involved in at least one goal in each of his previous five Premier League games, netting four and setting up a couple.

Should he continue that streak against Spurs – or whoever they play next if the game is postponed – he will be the youngest player in the competition's history to have a hand in a goal in six successive Premier League games.

Gabadinho Mhango scored twice as Malawi came from behind to beat Zimbabwe 2-1 on Friday, providing a real boost to the Flames' hopes of getting out of their group for the first time in Africa Cup of Nations history.

Ishmael Wadi had seemingly ensured Zimbabwe were going into the break ahead, with his towering header looping over Ernest Kakhobwe in the Malawi net with 38 minutes played.

But Meck Mwase's men levelled soon after, Mhango turning in Francisco Madinga's sumptuous left-wing cross.

Malawi then completed the turnaround just before the hour mark.

Mhango played the ball into Madinga from the flank and continued his run, which subsequently allowed him to capitalise on Teenage Hadebe's hesitant defending after a flick-on, and he guided a delicate finish over the onrushing Petros Mhari.

The result leaves Malawi with three points from two games, one behind top two Guinea and Senegal, and gives them a fine chance of at least securing one of the qualification spots awarded to the four best third-placed teams – Zimbabwe are pointless and staring at likely elimination.

Morocco are through to the Africa Cup of Nations round of 16 after goals from Selim Amallah and Zakaria Aboukhlal secured a 2-0 win over Comoros on Friday.

Amallah opened the scoring in the first half at Ahmadou Ahidjo Stadium and Aboukhlal added a second late on as the Atlas Lions made it two Group C wins out of two following a 1-0 victory over Ghana in their opening game, sealing their spot in the knockout stage.

Standard Liege midfielder Amallah showed great composure in the penalty area as he latched onto a loose ball after Ayoub El Kaabi's shot was blocked, before finishing with his right foot after 16 minutes.

Nayef Aguerd almost doubled Morocco's lead before the break when he met Sofiane Boufal's corner with a towering header, but rattled the crossbar.

Amallah shot wastefully wide following a terrible pass from goalkeeper Salim Ben Boina, who was in the thick of the action as he bundled Zakaria Aboukhlal over in the box, but saved the resulting penalty from Youssef En-Nesyri with seven minutes to go.

Ben Boina continued to keep a dominant Morocco at bay until Aboukhlal sidefooted home in the 89th minute, the VAR awarding the goal after he was initially ruled to be offside, as Comoros suffered a second defeat that leaves the AFCON debutants bottom of the group.

Massimiliano Allegri says there is no questioning the "extraordinary" Paulo Dybala's value to Juventus and does not expect Arthur to leave this month.

Dybala's future is in doubt as the Argentina forward's contract expires at the end of the season and the 28-year-old has been linked with a move to Serie A rivals Inter.

Juve director Maurizio Arrivabene this week called for Dybala and his team-mates to show "character, grit and a desire to win" as the Turin giants battle for a Champions League spot.

Bianconeri head coach Allegri, who will take charge of the club for a 300th time when they face Udinese in Serie A on Saturday, says Dybala still has a big part to play.

He said: "The evaluations of the contracts are the job of the company, they are not things that concern me.

"I raised Dybala, he was a child when he arrived from Palermo, now he's grown up and he's an extraordinary player. I expect a lot [from Dybala] in this second part of the season. The value of the player is not discussed. He is a great player "

He added: "We are in a situation where we are temporarily out of the Champions League, so all the evaluations will be done in March/April. Juventus plans like this and we have to think about playing and working, we will see the rest later."

Midfielder Arthur has been strongly linked with a move to Premier League side Arsenal during the January transfer window.

Allegri is not planning for life without the Brazilian and also reiterated that Alvaro Morata will not be departing.

He said: "I don’t want to repeat myself. We have to get to the end of the season with these players in the best possible way.

"This means trying to reach the top four and go ahead in the Champions League and Coppa Italia."

Italy centre-back Leonardo Bonucci will miss Udinese's visit to Allianz Stadium due to a muscle injury.

Mikel Arteta suggested it is still too early to determine whether Sunday's north London derby with Tottenham will be able to go ahead as planned.

Arsenal were without nine first-team players for their goalless EFL Cup semi-final first-leg draw with Liverpool on Thursday.

They had four players away on international duty at the Africa Cup of Nations, another four injured and Martin Odegaard tested positive for COVID-19 prior to the game.

But despite the club having only one known coronavirus case prior to Friday's testing, there appears to be a real danger of the clash being postponed.

Media reports claim the club have not yet submitted a request to the Premier League for the fixture to be called off, but it would seem they only need a few more players to become unavailable for a postponement to be likely.

In order for the encounter to not go ahead, Arsenal will need to prove they do not have 13 eligible outfield players and a goalkeeper among their first-team squad or "appropriately experienced Under-21 players", and Arteta suggested Thursday's game did bring further fitness problems.

Speaking on Friday, Arteta said: "We had concerns already before the match against Liverpool, and after the game we had some more issues.

"We haven't been able to assess the squad yet because we couldn't fly last night, so we just arrived to the training ground and all the boys are being looked after. So we don't know."

Centre-backs Ben White and Gabriel Magalhaes were two of those able to play the full 90 minutes on Thursday, and both have been praised for their performances this season.

Since the former's pre-season arrival from Brighton and Hove Albion, the defenders have formed a good understanding at the heart of the Gunners' defence.

They have started 18 games together this season across all competitions, with Arsenal losing just four of those and winning 11 (61.1 per cent).

Arsenal have suffered as many defeats from matches in which one of them has not started, despite there being only eight games that qualify in that regard.

From those matches in question, Arsenal's win rate drops to 50 per cent, while their average goals conceded per 90 minutes increases to 1.4 from 0.9.

After a somewhat shaky start, White appears to have settled and Arteta can already see a strong partnership forming, with the Spaniard praising him for being one of those to stand up the challenge posed by facing Liverpool a man light for much of the match following Granit Xhaka's red card.

"He is one of them that I would certainly apply the words that I've just mentioned to his performance," Arteta continued.

"He's not Tony [Adams] and he cannot be Tony. He's just moved to our club and he's just been here just for a few months, but he has something and he wants to do it.

"He's very demanding with himself, he's really willing to learn and improve his game and he's in the right place.

"In terms of the qualities that I saw in [White] and what is required for us to try to recruit somebody like him with his qualities, it was clear [he could play with Gabriel].

"Then those personalities as well, that chemistry has to exist. We can see they really enjoy playing together, you can see that, that chemistry is there and that's a massive extra when you are looking to build something at the back."

Thomas Tuchel declared he would be "very angry" if any of Chelsea's rivals unjustly take advantage of the Premier League's COVID-19 emergency postponement rules.

The Chelsea head coach was left frustrated in December when an application to have the Blues' game against Wolves postponed after a rash of positive cases in Tuchel's squad was turned down.

On that occasion, a weakened Chelsea team battled to a 0-0 draw at Molineux, and Tuchel insists he has always made every effort to field a side during the pandemic.

At his news conference on Friday ahead of a trip to Manchester City, the German coach was asked whether he felt others team might be looking to bend the rules, taking into account players unavailable through injury or Africa Cup of Nations involvement when seeking postponements.

"I strongly, strongly hope that's not the case," Tuchel said, "because otherwise I would be very, very angry, because we are doing everything to make games happen.

"We were made to play when we thought we should maybe not, so I can only strongly hope that the rules are the same rules for everybody."

The Premier League has mapped out guidance for clubs to follow when it comes to requesting a postponement for COVID-19 factors.

It states that when a club cannot field 13 outfield players from its squad list – or by using "appropriately experienced" under-21 players – a match will be postponed.

Chelsea possess formidable resources, even with injuries, illnesses and AFCON absences.

They have also recalled Kenedy from a loan with Flamengo, offering the 25-year-old winger a chance to reignite his Stamford Bridge career. He last featured for the Blues in the 2017-18 season and has since had loan spells at Newcastle United, Getafe, Granada and Flamengo.

With Ben Chilwell injured and an absentee for the foreseeable future, Tuchel needed extra options on the left. He believes Kenedy, despite playing much of his career as an attacking player, can prove adept as a left wing-back.

"Kenedy is back and I'm very happy about it," Tuchel said. "it's a huge opportunity for him to make his mark at this club and in this team.

"We cannot say Kenedy is the solution. He can be the solution, but the situation has not changed, we have long-term injuries with the wing-backs."

Antonio Conte laughed off the suggestion he had been surprised by the scale of the challenge at Tottenham, ahead of his first north London derby as Spurs boss.

Tottenham host fierce rivals Arsenal on Sunday knowing a win would see them leapfrog the Gunners, who sit fifth in the Premier League.

Spurs are unbeaten in their last seven home league games against Arsenal (W5 D2), their longest such run against their north London rivals since a run of nine between 1960 and 1968, while a win would see them claim three successive home league victories over the Gunners for the first time since 1961.

However, after claiming a 3-1 win in the reverse fixture this season, Arsenal are looking to complete their first league double over Tottenham since the 2013-14 campaign.

While Spurs have hardly been spectacular under Conte, they are unbeaten in the eight league games he has taken charge of so far, though Arsenal have won their last two Premier League away games, netting as many goals in these two victories (nine) as they had in their previous nine league games on the road.

Though they undoubtedly have a world-class head coach in place, the gulf between Spurs and the Premier League's elite was on show as Chelsea eased to a 3-0 aggregate win in the recent EFL Cup semi-final.

Arsenal, with 10 men, held Liverpool to a goalless draw in the first leg of their semi-final tie on Thursday, and Conte believes Mikel Arteta's side are ahead of his team in regards to the progress of their "project".

Yet the former Inter boss dismissed the idea that he had been taken aback by the task at hand.

"I decided to accept this job because to work in this environment, to work in a modern club is good I think for every coach," Conte chuckled in response in Friday's news conference.

"Then, when you're outside you can imagine the situation no? Then, when you're inside the situation, you can understand every aspect very well.

"Now it's time to work. I made my evaluations about the situation, but now I think no words but facts. We have only to work to try to improve the situation that I have found here."

On Arsenal, Conte said: "I think that they're working, they've started to work and to build something important.

"They had more time than us and Arteta has the possibility to work with the players for a couple of years. Also to go in the transfer market.

"I think they're doing a good job in this moment but maybe, for this reason, they're ahead in the project than us because they have started before [us] with the same coach. Now they're having good results.

"Arsenal are a really good team, but we want to know how much we're improving from the last period."

Conte did, however, offer assurances that he is committed to the job at Spurs, having signed an 18-month contract upon his arrival.

"We agreed, Tottenham and I, the length of the contract. I think was good for me to see the situation and for the club to understand the coach they're going to work with. I'm enjoying my time in Tottenham," he added.

"I found a fantastic atmosphere, a great stadium, a great training ground. For sure, we want, and I want to improve the situation. I think all the people, we want and deserve much more than this."

Conte confirmed Spurs are assessing one new COVID-19 case within their squad, while Eric Dier will miss Sunday's match due to injury.