Manchester City are back in action on Saturday and Pep Guardiola has discussed whether or not he will make changes to the team who were battered by Real Madrid.
March is shaping up to be a very busy month for Manchester City, which has meant different players have been coming in and out of the first-team.
Pep Guardiola made 10 changes to his starting lineup when Man City took on Newcastle in the FA Cup. This was followed by a Champions League tie with Real Madrid which saw the manager swap seven players around.
With this in mind, there is an expectation that Guardiola could once again adjust his team ahead of this weekend’s visit to the London Stadium.
Pep Guardiola will make changes to his Man City team
During his pre-match press conference, Guardiola has revealed that he will make changes to the team who faced Real Madrid on Wednesday night.
This is not due to their lacklustre performance, but because of Man City’s demanding schedule, which sees them play a third successive away fixture.
He said: “When you win a lot of titles every game is important. We will fight until the end. A lot of travel [so] we can’t play the same XI [against West Ham].”
Guardiola then revealed where his mind is currently at as he explained that he is only focused on this weekend’s match, despite being asked about Real Madrid.
The City boss added: “My mind is West Ham. I understand you ask about Madrid, but I focus on West Ham and Nuno [Santo].”
Positioning is just as important as personnel for Guardiola
In order to claim a victory over West Ham, Guardiola could do with switching things up after his experimental approach to the Real Madrid game went horribly wrong.
Making changes to the Man City squad would be a good idea, but he also needs to focus on utilising his player’s strengths.
The manager’s decisions in the week simply made no sense, from Antoine Semnyo playing down the middle to Abdukodir Khusanov operating the right-back role.
Guardiola needs to get back to his usual set-up, while ensuring each player lines up where they are most comfortable.
