Guardiola targets third successive manager of the month award

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola is up for a third successive EPL manager of the month award after he was listed among four men who led their teams to outstanding results in January 2022.

Guardiola won the award in November and December, a feat that ensured he has now won the manager of the Month award 11 times in total during his City tenure, placing him third on the overall standings behind only Arsene Wenger and Sir Alex Ferguson.

Manchester City under Guardiola began the month under review with victories over Arsenal and Chelsea, taking their winning streak to 12 matches, before the leaders drew 1-1 at Southampton.

He will be challenged by Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp whose side started January with a thrilling 2-2 draw at Chelsea before winning against Brentford and Crystal Palace to boost their title hopes.

Wolves’ Bruno Lage however looks like the man to beat after he led the Molineux side to victory in all three of their matches, including a 1-0 triumph at Manchester United, the club’s first Premier League win at Old Trafford, and a 3-1 home success over Southampton.

Sacked last year by Aston Villa, Dean Smith seems to be on the way to pulling off a miracle at Norwich.

Smith steered the Canaries out of the relegation zone for the first time this season with back-to-back wins over Everton and Watford. In the latter, the Canaries scored three times in a match for the first time in 2021/22.