Aston Villa manager Steven Gerrard says he wants to compete against the likes of Pep Guardiola as he embarks on just his third game as a Premier League manager.
The former Liverpool midfielder replaced Dean Smith after he was sacked following a poor run of form at Villa Park which led to their search ending with the ex-Rangers boss.
During his time in Scotland, the 41-year-old won the Scottish Premiership, ending Celtic's stranglehold on the title.
Ollie Watkins and Tyrone Mings had got the new regime off to the perfect start with goals in Villa's win over Brighton. They then secured back-to-back wins for Gerrard at Crystal Palace last weekend, despite Douglas Luiz's straight red card midway through the second half.
The visit of Guardiola's Manchester City poses the biggest test of his first stint in the Premier League as a manager.
But for Gerrard, this is the type of fixture he thrives off and whilst his personal aspirations lie with battling with the top bosses in the division, he has issued a message to his Aston Villa players.
"I like competing. This is my medicine. I do miss it still and this is the next best thing to continue to compete at the top level of the game," he told Amazon Prime Sport.
"I got the job for a reason, it was on the back of poor form, poor results and my job was to come in and make a difference. If I want success at Aston Villa, I've got to challenge myself. I want to compete against Pep [Guardiola], I want to compete against Brendan [Rodgers] and Jurgen [Klopp] and all the other names.
"I want this to be an enjoyable place, I want players to really enjoy their journey but they've got to understand pretty quickly when we work, whether it be on the training ground or when it's a game day, they've got to change their body language as well because we're at a level when you've got to because this is a real tough level, it's a brutal level and it can find you out if you're not at your best.
"We have the opportunity to be the underdog and these are the games you want to challenge yourself in. I certainly do, if that doesn't excite you then you're representing the wrong club and the wrong badge."
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