Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola says he expects to field two completely different starting elevens when his team play Arsenal and Watford later this month.
Due to scheduling conflicts, the Cityzens will be forced to play the league game against the Gunners and the Carabao Cup tie versus the Hornets with just a one-day gap in between. Speaking about the situation in his pre-match press conference on Friday, Guardiola said:
“Hopefully we can select two teams and be fit and have no injuries but everyone knows the schedule will be tight this season.”
City will host Arsenal on Sunday 22nd September before facing Watford (which is also at the Etihad) on Tuesday 24th.
Guardiola has revealed that City were given the choice to swap venues
The reason why the Premier League champions are having to play Watford on the Tuesday, rather than Wednesday, is because Manchester United are playing a Europa League fixture at home. Manchester Police cannot provide officers for both games on the same evening.
However, Guardiola has confirmed that the EFL did offer to make it an away game so City could have played at Vicarage Road on Thursday, but they wanted to keep the match at the Etihad.
The team have a very intense fixture schedule
The Cityzens are certainly not the only club with the same congested fixture list, but having to play 7 games in 21 days is a really tough ask.
Guardiola chose to go into the campaign with a rather small squad, and that decision will be called into question if his side suffer from fatigue and injuries over the coming weeks.
If they can get through to the next international break unscathed, though, it would be a big boost heading into the rest of the season.
Find out who is in Manchester City’s first-team squad for the 2024/2025 season here
