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Pep Guardiola fears the effects on Man City of fighting on four fronts
Pep Guardiola has admitted he is concerned that Manchester City’s season could fall apart in the new year because of the demands of chasing success in four competitions.
City have proved just about unstoppable over the first half of the season, dropping just two points in 20 Premier League matches.
Victory at Crystal Palace on Sunday would equal Guardiola’s personal best of 19 successive league victories, set at Bayern Munich between October 2013 and March 2014, and would also set a Premier League record of 12 consecutive away wins.
Guardiola has repeatedly rejected the suggestion that his team could become only the third to go unbeaten through an entire English top-flight campaign, and has made clear in the past few days that he believes that this season’s title race is far from over.
Now he has pinpointed January as a dangerous month, suggesting that the glut of fixtures might cause City to stumble. Today’s match will be City’s ninth of December, and there will be at least seven more to come in January, with that total rising depending on FA Cup results.
Guardiola is concerned about that, plus the fact that he has no experience of chasing four trophies in a single season. City are still involved in the Champions League and Carabao Cup, as well as the FA Cup and the Premier League.
“Handling four competitions, I don’t know if we will be able to do that,” he said. “When I look at the schedule, we have to be careful. So, I am worried. I am worried because we cannot play every three days.
“After Crystal Palace and Watford in the Premier League, we have the FA Cup against Burnley, and then the Carabao Cup against Bristol City, who have taken out four Premier League teams. So be careful.
“Kevin de Bruyne cannot play every minute every three days. The players need refreshing to be right for the last part of the season.
“Also, I never lived in that situation before. Three competitions, I’ve handled many times. But four, never. And the fourth competition is not one game. It’s double games and [potential] extra-time. So, that’s why I am worried. We are going to see how we handle that situation.”
Guardiola refuses to take satisfaction from City’s outstanding form over the first half of the campaign, instead suggesting that it has made him question why they did not do better last season.
Their success to date has been achieved with the bulk of last season’s squad; of the players he brought in last summer, only goalkeeper Ederson and right-back Kyle Walker have been regular starters.
“When I speak with my staff, I say that we are playing with nine players from last season,” Guardiola said. “So something we did last season was not good. There was something we missed.
“Of course, they know us, the staff, better, and we know them better. Last season, for example, I never thought we would play Fabian Delph at full-back. And now it’s: ‘Ah, the brilliant Pep. How talented he is.’ Why didn’t I do that last season? I ask myself as well.
“Sometimes you need more time to see things. He’s a real leader in the locker room is Fabian Delph. That’s why I always give credit to the players for what they do.”
Guardiola, meanwhile, has indicated that he would be happy to aid England’s drive for long-term success by passing on advice to Gareth Southgate and the Football Association.
The City manager said that he was keen to help, having been grateful to those who helped him when he started his coaching career at Barcelona.
He said: “I did it because I was a young manager before, and for me it was a gift to speak with managers who opened the doors to explain what they believe about the profession, about the locker rooms, about the tactics, about whatever. So, of course, I am able to speak with them.
“They don’t know it, but I am going learn from them as well. I am pretty sure of that. Normally when this happens, I try to be so much smarter to take something from them.”