Enzo Maresca insists the feeling among his Manchester City players is "fantastic" and they are 100% focused on Sunday's trip to Liverpool, following a tumultuous few weeks for the club.
During the international break, the Premier League confirmed City had been found guilty by an independent commission of all charges relating to breaches of the competition's financial regulations between the 2009-10 and 2017-18 seasons, and the majority of charges in relation to their failure to co-operate with the league's investigation.
Back in February 2023, City were charged with 115 breaches of the Premier League's rules during the affected period, which saw them win the title three times.
City continue to maintain their innocence and have appealed against the verdict, but the headlines have still been dominated by speculation about potential punishments, including fines, points deductions, relegations, European bans and even the stripping of past titles.
But with City winning their first five games of 2026-27 to sit top of the table, Maresca has urged his players to focus on the one thing they can control – their form on the pitch.
"Personally, I'm very calm to be honest. The club has been quite clear. We trust the club completely," he said in an interview with City's website.
"We understand the noise but the focus for us is just what we can control, and we can just control the football side.
"The feeling is fantastic, to be honest. The players are excited for the next two games. But they are especially excited because at this moment we are top of the league.
"The players are just focused on that. They know what we can control is the football side – they are not worried at all about different things.
"They know their profession and they know that the noise is there, but they don't care too much about the noise.
"They are just focused at this moment on how we can beat Liverpool and how, together with the fans, we can try to win at Anfield."
"They are just focused, in this moment, on how we can beat Liverpool.” Enzo says our players are focused on the task ahead, starting with a trip to Anfield on Sunday. https://t.co/VM5ALI1Iv1
— Manchester City (@ManCity) October 8, 2026
Maresca could become only the fourth manager to win his first six matches of a spell in charge of a club in the Premier League, after Carlo Ancelotti with Chelsea, Pep Guardiola with City, and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer with Manchester United.
Sunday's game will be the first in the Premier League between Liverpool and City without either Jurgen Klopp or Guardiola in the dugout since March 2015, when Brendan Rodgers' Reds beat Manuel Pellegrini's Citizens 2-1 at Anfield.
Things do not get any easier for City after their trip to Merseyside, as they welcome Paris Saint-Germain to the Etihad Stadium in the Champions League next Wednesday.
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