Thomas Tuchel responds to claim he’s better than Pep Guardiola after beating Man City three times since taking over at Stamford Bridge

Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel has refused to be drawn on whether he is a better manager than Manchester City head coach Pep Guardiola before their crunch clash at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.

Chelsea and Manchester City are expected to go head-to-head to challenge for the Premier League title this season but Thomas Tuchel would not be drawn into the early season mind games

Recently, reports have circulated that the former PSG boss is in a feud with Guardiola in the build-up to the game, but Tuchel has put the rumours to bed very quickly.

Speaking on Friday ahead of the match he described as a “six-pointer”, via BBC Sport, the 48-year-old said: “I have the highest respect for Pep.”

The German was then quizzed on whether he believed he was a better coach than Guardiola, to which he replied: “This question does not even exist for me and I can’t answer it.

“It’s a question for you guys and you can endlessly debate.

“I am a huge admirer for the impact he had from his first day of his professional coaching – the impact at Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Manchester City. He has my biggest respect.

“There is no reason to ask myself if I am a better coach. I do the best I can, I am in a place I am very happy, and I am a better coach today than yesterday.”

The last time City and Chelsea met in the Premier League the London side snatched all three points in the dying embers of the game.

Looking back at the past three encounters, Tuchel said: “If I look at it honestly I see the last three games as three 50-50 matches,

“We want to fight hard to be the guys who have a better outcome.

“We did it several times with this team and we know how much we suffered also in these matches.

“If we win tomorrow we will not be crowned as champions, and if City win they will not be champions and we will not be in depression.”

The teams will face off on Saturday lunchtime at Stamford Bridge, with Chelsea hoping to go top of the table and continue their unbeaten start to the season.