Manchester City face a gruelling two-week schedule starting on Wednesday, but a meeting with Tottenham in the League Cup is not a priority, Pep Guardiola has insisted.
The trip to North London on Wednesday night marks the start of a four-game run that sees Manchester City compete away from home, including back-to-back top-flight trips to the English south coast and a venture onto the continent for Champions League duties.
The short turnaround after meeting Tottenham in the Carabao Cup will see City prepare for a meeting with Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium on Saturday afternoon, before immediately refocussing for a clash against Sporting CP on matchday four of the Champions League.
The run of four consecutive away clashes rounds off with another visit to the south coast and a meeting with Fabian Hurzeler’s Brighton & Hove Albion, with all four matches expected to test Manchester City’s squad to its very limits.
Speaking during a recent press conference, City manager Pep Guardiola has discussed the approach he and his staff will need to take towards his team selections in order to handle a challenging four-game run across three competitions.
“We talked about that and we have to take care of ourselves, go to sleep, drink, good food, sleep a lot, training and recovery,” Guardiola said. “Who we are is who we are! I would love to have everyone, it’s not the position, we are few, few people – OK!”
The 53-year-old continued, “We are going to do what we have to do, I don’t know even, and I’m going to think against Spurs maybe some players from the Academy, I don’t know.
“We will see tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, fortunately we have four days and not three and of course we are going to go there to compete, but the main target is Bournemouth and Sporting de Lisboa and Brighton before the international break – this is the main…
“We are not going to take a decision… If the players are fine, they are going to play against Spurs but if they have doubts, I’m not going to take a risk against Spurs, that’s for sure.”
Pep Guardiola and Manchester City are not expected to field their strongest side against Ange Postecoglou’s side, but the manager has admitted that the strong side they expect the North London club to put out means they need to be careful about their own selection.
The 53-year-old is conscious that he needs to field a balance of youth and experience in his line-up, ensuring that the less-experienced players still take on a positive experience in a testing environment on Wednesday night.
