Man City news: Pep Guardiola commends Nicolas Otamendi for City's brilliant start

City’s midfield and attacking players have received all of the plaudits this season for the flowing football that has seen them net 39 times in just 12 competitive matches.

But City have also improved at the back with the previously much-maligned Otamendi forming a solid partnership with John Stones, in the continuing injury-enforced absence of skipper Vincent Kompany.

“Normally we talk about the attacking players but Nico and John have been fantastic in the last month,” said Guardiola. 

“I’m been really impressed by ‘Nico.’ He has a warrior-like mentality. He’s not afraid at all.

“He is one of the players with the strongest mentality that I met in my life. He’s a guy who just wants to learn, in terms of ball possession, because he has always been strong in the air. He really wins duels, which is necessary everywhere, but especially here in England, and also has the courage to play [on the ground].

“If he loses a game he says ‘Give me the ball again and let’s play,’ and I give a lot of value to this kind of thing. I’m so happy with him.”

Burnley midfielder Steven Defour goes head-to-head against City’s in-form Kevin De Bruyne today saying his close pal was always destined for the top – having seen him get the better of his youth coaches even as a 13-year-old.

The Belgium international team-mates stayed with the same family as teenagers as they tried to make their name in their homeland with Genk.

Defour said: “I think I was 16 or 17, so Kevin must have been 12 or 13. There were eight of us, I think, in one house.

“Even then, he could see things way faster than anyone else. If the coach said, ‘you have to play the ball right’, he would say no if he could see a better option because he was so ahead of his team-mates.”

Sergio Aguero will return after three games out with a fractured rib as City bid to make it 11 wins on the trot in all competitions.