- Man City thumped Liverpool in the FA Cup
- This came just days after the international break
- The players will be given time off to rest
Manchester City have come up with a plan to ensure their players are as sharp as possible before Premier League action returns.
The international break is hardly a fitting term for a week which saw 17 Manchester City players represent their respective national teams.
Indeed, the likes of Bernardo Silva and Jermy Doku were playing in North America in the early hours of Wednesday morning [UK time], yet came back to play for City on Saturday afternoon.
Despite this, there were no signs of tiredness as the Citizens thrashed Liverpool in their FA Cup quarter-final tie.
Man City award their players a two-day break
In order to keep Erling Haaland and his teammates fresh before Man City take on Chelsea, Pep Guardiola has decided to give them a two-day period of rest.
This is not an uncommon move for the Catalan boss. In fact, last month he cancelled training in order to help his team relax before the second leg clash with Real Madrid.
Assistant manager Pep Lijnders said in his post-match press conference: “We need to keep stepping up, using days off to recover well, then have training. It’s the first time this season we can train.”
Even with fewer days of training, Man City still have plenty of time to prepare for the weekend as they are no longer in the Champions League.
Man City have an advantage over Arsenal
While Man City are resting up after a huge FA Cup triumph, Mikel Arteta’s players are preparing for a Champions League tie with Sporting CP after being stunned by Southampton.
Once this is over, Arsenal will have to turn their attention to a Saturday lunchtime kick off against Bournemouth.
This is a demanding schedule and should the Gunners drop points, it means Man City’s Premier League title hopes are still very much alive. Especially since the two teams are facing off in two weeks’ time.
