Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has spoken about his team’s schedule ahead of their upcoming Champions League clash with Real Madrid, acknowledging the pros and cons of the upcoming fixtures.
This weekend, Manchester City will face Newcastle in the Premier League, with the game scheduled to kick off at 8:00 pm local time. Guardiola has previously expressed frustration with the timing, saying the game would have been better played earlier in the day alongside the rest of the league.
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The Spanish coach explained at Friday’s pre-match press conference that while the timing has a logistical benefit, it also presents challenges for his team ahead of European competition.
“One advantage of this is that we don’t have to travel today. Tomorrow we will travel, play and then come back. The disadvantage is that we will have less recovery time before the Real Madrid game,” Guardiola said.
After the game against Newcastle, City will return to Manchester and stay there until Tuesday afternoon. The team will then travel to Madrid for Wednesday’s Champions League last-16 first leg tie at the Santiago Bernabeu.
As part of their preparations, Pep Guardiola’s side will make the most of the time they spend at England’s training facilities. The team plans to train at its own complex before flying to Spain, rather than holding its final session at the Santiago Bernabeu.
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Guardiola also highlighted the tough run of games his side are currently enduring, stressing that rotation is vital as City juggle domestic and European competition.
“We have a lot of games in a short period of time. A lot of travel, fatigue, we have to go to Madrid and then to London… If we want to play at the level we want to play, we need to utilize every player in the squad.”
