Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola says the secret to the success of Spanish coaches is their development when it comes to the tactical side of the game.
Guardiola, who has led City to four successive Premier League titles, will go up against compatriot Julen Lopetegui when his team travel to West Ham on Saturday.
It has been a summer of success for Spain on the international stage, with La Roja winning Euro 2024 before their Under-23s won gold at the Paris Olympics.
Mikel Arteta, Unai Emery and Andoni Iraola form the rest of the Spanish contingent of managers in the Premier League, and Guardiola shared what he believes is the reason for coaches from his nation enjoying such success.
"The secret is [Spanish coaches] work really well from early ages on tactics, on methodologies, to understand the game," he told Man City's official media channels.
"So in a team sport, you need to acknowledge why things happen. Spanish coaches work really well to understand the game.
"Today, all the managers and coaches are really well prepared. That’s why the football is getting better and better."
Guardiola added that competition is what drives him on.
"I think the competition itself ignites something in all of us. Why should it stop? I think when it stops, you should retire," he said.
"When the competition comes, we say okay, let’s try it again. That mentality is always there.
"Managers always drink knowledge from the staff, from the players – it’s not always me to the other people. It's a back and forth, not in just one direction.
"Just to have nice people around you is the most important thing, to have the good vibes in the team. If not it’s always conflict – conflict is the enemy that can beat you. The rest has to be a healthy, nice environment."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
West Ham - Michail Antonio
Antonio has been involved in 99 Premier League goals for West Ham (67 goals, 32 assists), and could be the first player to reach 100 for the club.
Five of these have been against Man City (three goals, two assists), with the Jamaican only having a hand in more against four clubs (Crystal Palace, Tottenham, Liverpool and Watford).
Manchester City - Erling Haaland
Haaland has scored 16 goals in 10 Premier League appearances in August, averaging a goal every 52 minutes, the best minutes-per-goal ratio by a player in a particular month in Premier League history (min. 500 minutes played).
MATCH PREDICTION: MANCHESTER CITY WIN
City have lost none of their 16 Premier League meetings with West Ham under Guardiola (W14 D2). It is the joint-most a manager has faced a specific opponent without ever losing in the competition's history (Alex Ferguson vs Charlton also 16).
The champions are unbeaten in 21 Premier League games so far in 2024 (W18 D3), their longest unbeaten run from the start of a calendar year in league history. Overall, they are unbeaten in 25 Premier League games, winning the last 11 in a row.
City have scored more away goals against West Ham than they have against any other opponent in the Premier League (42). Meanwhile, their 25 goals at the London Stadium is the most an away team has scored at a specific venue in the Premier League since its opening in 2016-17.
West Ham are winless in their last 17 Premier League meetings with City (D3 L14) since a 2-1 away win in September 2015. Indeed, City have lost just one of their last 14 away league games against the Hammers (W8 D5), and are unbeaten in their last nine visits since a 2-1 loss at Upton Park in October 2014.
The Hammers have conceded at least once in each of their last 10 Premier League home games, last having a longer run without a clean sheet between April and December 2009 (12).
Only Liverpool and Nottingham Forest (37 each) have had more shots than West Ham (32) in the opening two Premier League games this season. However, only three sides (Everton, Southampton, Ipswich Town) have had fewer attempts on target than the Hammers (six).
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
West Ham - 16.4%
Man City - 64%
Draw - 19.6%
West Ham 1-0 Bournemouth: Bowen bursts Cherries' bubble in EFL Cup
West Ham progressed to the third round of the EFL Cup after a contentious late goal from Jarrod Bowen helped them edge fellow Premier League side Bournemouth 1-0 at London Stadium.
As the game looked to be heading for a penalty shootout, Bowen emerged as West Ham's hero, deflecting in the winner with just two minutes left on the clock, though the ball appeared to strike his arm.
Julen Lopetegui's Hammers were on the backfoot for most of the first half, which ended with Bournemouth winger Dango Ouattara testing goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski with an acrobatic effort.
The visitors went close again as Marcus Tavernier brushed the woodwork with his free-kick eight minutes after the restart, but Bournemouth failed to find the back of the net despite creating plenty of chances and mustering an expected goals (xG) of 1.01 to West Ham's 0.8.
And ultimately, their profligacy was punished when Bowen turned in Mohamed Kudus' 88th-minute strike, and with no VAR, there was no reprieve for the Cherries.
West Ham will return to action when they host reigning champions Manchester City in the Premier League on Saturday while the Cherries will be at Goodison Park on the same day to face Everton.
Data Debrief: Bowen blowing bubbles
Bowen has now scored in each of his last three games in the EFL Cup, and even though he did not know much about this goal, he was West Ham's greatest attacking threat, having five attempts in total, and getting three of them on target.
The Hammers have now found the net in each of their last six EFL Cup matches, which is the club's longest such run in the competition.
Alonso seeking improvements as Leverkusen complete Mukiele signing
Xabi Alonso wants Bayer Leverkusen to click through the gears after they edged out Jena in the DFB-Pokal.
Jonas Hofmann's header was enough to send holders Leverkusen into the next round with a 1-0 win on Wednesday.
Alonso's side only allowed their lower-league opponents to have six shots, but worryingly for the Bundesliga champions, those did accumulate to 1.04 expected goals (xG).
Indeed, Hamza Muqaj missed a golden opportunity for the hosts worth 0.75 xG in second-half stoppage time.
With RB Leipzig next up in the league, Alonso knows his team have to sharpen up.
"[We faced] a good opponent and it wasn't easy," said Alonso.
"We have to work on a few things, but we are in the next round and that's what counts. Now we go straight into preparing for the next league game."
Leverkusen did bolster their defensive options, though with the signing of Nordi Mukiele.
The versatile defender has joined on loan from Paris Saint-Germain, and could be in line to make his debut against his former club Leipzig on Saturday.
Odilon Kossounou, meanwhile, has left Leverkusen to sign for Atalanta, who beat Alonso's team in last season's Europa League final, on loan.
Jena 0-1 Bayer Leverkusen: Hofmann header sends holders through
Jonas Hofmann's header sent holders Bayer Leverkusen through in the DFB-Pokal.
Leverkusen kick-started their Bundesliga campaign with a last-gasp win over Borussia Monchengladbach on Friday, and though matters were more comfortable against lower-league Jena on Wednesday, Xabi Alonso's team had to settle for a 1-0 win.
Hofmann got the decisive goal in the 52nd minute, heading home from Alex Grimaldo's delivery.
Leverkusen finished with 16 shots and an expected goals (xG) of 1.31, though Jena did muster 1.04 xG from just six attempts, with Hamza Muqaj squandering their best chance of the game.
Data Debrief: Heads up
Hofmann has had a fantastic career, plying his trade for Leverkusen, Gladbach and Borussia Dortmund.
Yet incredibly, his goal on Wednesday was the first ever to come from his head. It was his only attempt of the night, with the attacking midfielder managing just three touches in Jena's area.
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