Is there anything that Pep Guardiola can't do?
If he ever gets bored of being one of the greatest managers of all-time, the Manchester City boss could probably earn a healthy living as the best fortune teller in the world.
You've probably got absolutely no idea what I'm talking about but cast your mind back to February 2020.
City had just recorded a routine home win over West Ham, though much of the talk in Pep's post-match presser concerned the recent announcement that his side had been banned from UEFA competitions for the next two seasons - a punishment that was, of course, overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport in July that year.
Guardiola's former employers Barcelona were quick to support the decision made by European football's governing body, yet as City Is Ours editor Dom Farrell and the MEN's senior City writer Simon Bajkowski discussed on Wednesday morning's Facebook Live stream, Pep's reply to one question in particular seemed to forecast issues for the Catalan club.
Turns out he was absolutely spot on.
SB: "Ferran Soriano [City's chief executive] put out a statement on the day of the game and that sort of said 'well Pep's probably not going to say anything'.
"I think there was one question put to him [Guardiola] and then somebody else tried to ask a question and the press office were like "no we've had enough" and Pep said, "no let them speak".
"The question was, 'Barcelona have sided with UEFA and said it's great that you're banned, what do you think about that?' and he said, 'Don't talk too loud Barcelona because we've all got problems'. You look at what's happened over the last few years and that's an example of something he wanted to say and went on the attack.
"Guardiola's at his best when he feels like he's under attack and he just decides to turn the tables."
Having rejoiced in the City manager's seeming ability to predict the future, talk turned to one of his nearest rivals Jurgen Klopp.
Liverpool boss Klopp has often been guilty of asking journalists to answer the very question they've posed and it seems he and Guardiola may have more in common than they'd have you believe.
SB: "He [Guardiola] always tends to prefer you to have an opinion yourself rather than just floating a generic question.
"We saw Jurgen Klopp get very angry with someone asking him if he thought it [Aaron Cresswell's challenge on Jordan Henderson] was a red card this week and we would always try and pose the question as neutral because no one cares what we think.
"Pep would much rather hear you say "I thought Raheem Sterling was really good today, what did you think?". Generally he would rather you state your own opinion and put your neck on the line and then he can either agree or disagree."
Do you think Guardiola and Klopp are similar managers? Follow our City Is Ours content editor Ross Jackson on Twitter to get involved in the discussion and give us your thoughts in the comments section below.
