Former Manchester City and England boss Sven-Goran Eriksson has suggested that the difficulty of the Premier League may have surprised Pep Guardiola.

Eriksson’s comments come after City were knocked out of Champions League by AS Monaco and trail Premier League leaders Chelsea by ten points with 11 games remaining of the season.

Difficulty of the Premier League

Eriksson, who was in charge of City during the 2007-08 season, says that the English top-flight is different to the other top European leagues and believes that may have caught Guardiola cold in his first campaign in Eastlands.

"If you are the coach of Bayern Munich, Barcelona or Real Madrid, the chances to win something are huge. When you go to the Premier League, you have six, seven, eight teams fighting to win. Confidence is much higher in the Bundesliga or La Liga," Eriksson told Omnisport.

The Swede suggested that "the difference between Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atletico lately is rather big" compared to the rest of the Spanish league, but claimed it is "not that big" between "City, Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur" in England.

Eriksson added: "It is more difficult for any coach to work in the Premier League than any other league. You can lose or win against any team. Next year, who knows, maybe you can put your money on Leicester again."

Guardiola’s success

Before arriving at the Etihad Stadium Guardiola had enjoyed hugely successful stints at Barcelona and Bayern Munich.

With Barcelona, Guardiola twice won the Champions League along with lifting three La Liga titles, two Copa del Rey trophies, three Spanish Super Cup’s, two UEFA Super Cup’s and two FIFA World Club Cup’s.

His success continued in Germany where he won three consecutive Bundesliga titles, two DFB-Pokal’s, one UEFA Super Cup and a FIFA World Club Cup with Bavarian giants Bayern.

However, his start at City hasn’t been as immediately successful this term - with the club's most realistic chance of silverware this season coming in the form of the FA Cup, where they will face Arsenal in the semi-finals.

Will City win silverware?

Chelsea currently hold a ten-point lead over City in the Premier League and Guardiola's charges will need a strong run of form, particularly in their next three games, if they are to make a late challenge against Antonio Conte’s side.

City host top-four hopefuls Liverpool this weekend before making the trip to London to face Arsenal and leaders Chelsea within three days of each other. Three consecutive victories would close the gap on Chelsea and would cement's City spot in the Champions League places.

However, Guardiola will be eyeing the FA Cup as his first trophy as City manager. If the Sky Blues can overcome Arsenal in the final four then they would face either Tottenham or Chelsea in the final.

With three of the Premier League’s strongest sides left in the competition, it will be difficult for City to come away with the FA Cup - although their performances in recent weeks offer plenty of hope.

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