Man City boss Guardiola gives honest assessment of Man Utd amid Red Devils' upturn in form

Topics: Pep Guardiola, Erik ten Hag, Manchester City, Manchester United, English Premier League

The Red Devils are only six points behind the reigning English champions despite Ten Hag's horrible start to the season, thus earning praise for his turnaround.

It looks like Manchester United fans aren't the only ones impressed by their club's short turn-around under Erik ten Hag.

After suffering back-to-back defeats in their first two Premier League games against Brighton and Brentford, supporters began fearing the worst this season. However, fast forward to today and the English giants are sixth in the table, only three points behind third-placed Tottenham, and have been gaining momentum. Bruno Fernandes and Co. are unbeaten in their last seven games since their huge Manchester Derby defeat, winning five of those outings while showing tremendous improvement and unity on the pitch under their newly-appointed manager.

Despite having already faced Liverpool, Arsenal, Man City, Tottenham, and Chelsea this campaign, Ten Hag's men are only eight points behind the Gunners, suffering only one defeat against their top-six rivals and what was against the Cityzens.

And as a result, the Red Devils have garnered praise from the Etihad Stadium boss. Speaking ahead of City's Premier League showdown with Leicester, Pep Guardiola gave his honest assessment of his team's bitter rivals, admitting that Manchester United are not far off from returning to the top.

"I have a feeling that United is coming. Finally, United is coming," Pep said ahead of his side's early Saturday kick-off against the Foxes, as per Goal. "I saw yesterday [against Sheriff] and [against] Chelsea the first half. I thought 'I like it', what I see from United just now. There will be a lot of teams.

"That is why you have to fight for the Champions League and fight for the title. In the first 10 games you don't win the Premier League, but you can be a little bit behind. Newcastle are already there. I saw them against Tottenham and the physicality from both sides."

As mentioned earlier, Manchester City take on Leicester in the first Matchweek 14 fixture, and should the reigning champions slip up at the King Power Stadium, then Manchester United could move within three to four points of the Cityzens.

However, the Red Devils are in for a tricky test of their own this weekend. After their hard-fought draw at Chelsea, Ten Hag's men now prepare to host West Ham this Sunday.

The Hammers are another huge club that endured a rough start to the campaign, losing their first three games of the season. However, David Moyes' side have suffered only one defeat in their last eight matches across all competitions, with that sole hiccup coming at Anfield. The Scottish manager's record at Old Trafford isn't particularly great but expect his team to hand the Red Devils a tough 90 minutes of football.