Pep Guardiola has urged his Manchester City team to take advantage of their upcoming Premier League fixtures, while also hinting at possible rotation across the coming four fixtures.
City’s 1-0 win against Leicester was their final away game before the World Cup, and they will be looking to take advantage of their remaining home matches in that time.
Head coach Pep Guardiola has stressed that he will rotate his squad across the course of the coming matches.
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Manchester City ended a challenging week on a high, following a 0-0 draw in Dortmund that confirmed top spot in Champions League Group G.
A hard fought victory against Leicester thanks to a stunning free-kick from Kevin De Bruyne followed suit, continuing City's hot pursuit of Arsenal at the top of the Premier League table.
Defeats for Liverpool and Chelsea allowed Manchester City to stretch their lead over both club, however a dramatic win for Tottenham keeps them just three points behind City having played a game more.
Early table toppers Arsenal thrashed newly-promoted Nottingham Forest side to restore their two-point lead over Manchester City, reminding Pep Guardiola of the tough competition that his side still face.
Having survived their consecutive away trips, Guardiola is now looking forward to making the most of four consecutive home games before the season breaks for the World cup in Qatar.
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Pep Guardiola, who is usually so focused on his own team, has been keeping an eye on the upcoming fixtures, noting that many of their rivals are due to play each other before the break.
Manchester City’s home fixtures against London clubs Fulham and Brentford will look somewhat easier on paper, but Guardiola knows how surprising the Premier League can be.
The Catalan coach has this week admitted that he is prepared to rest players against Sevilla in the Champions League, with the match not having any consequence on City's European hopes.
The same was hinted for the clash against Chelsea in the Carabao Cup a week later, in order to give Guardiola the best opportunity of taking advantage of any rivals dropping points in the league the following weekend.
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“This last week was really good,” the Manchester City manager said.
Guardiola continued, “It was so important because now against Sevilla, we can recover."
"The players that don't play much are going to play, and the players that played against Leicester are going to play. After, we have the Carabao Cup. It's important but it is the Carabao Cup. We have two (Premier League) games at home in Fulham and Brentford.
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“We rest well because it was demanding but we have four games at home so we don't have to travel, which is good for us as well because that tiredness always increases fatigue a lot,” Guardiola explained.
He finished off by saying, "We try to continue to do our job, but I see the team from minute one after Dortmund - how aggressive we were, winning second balls, making two or three chances, conceding nothing in the first half.”
Manchester City play Sevilla on matchday six of the Champions League on Wednesday night.
The Premier League champions go in to the fixture in the knowledge that their place at the top of the group is secured, and the match can be regarded as one to simply maintain fitness or try to impress the boss.
Topics: Pep Guardiola, Manchester City, Premier League, Champions League, Carabao Cup, Sevilla, Fulham, Brentford, Chelsea, Football
Danny Young