THE season starts here for Manchester City – and doesn’t Pep Guardiola know it.
Today’s home game with Brentford is the start of four matches in just 11 days – spread across three different competitions.
Then come another three in quick succession before the next international break.
Guardiola said after the win at West Ham two weeks ago that it still felt like pre-season – despite City’s perfect start to the campaign.
So now things get serious – and the scheduling of their Carabao Cup tie against Watford next week is certainly no laughing matter at the Etihad.
They will face the Championship high-fliers just 49 hours after their title showdown against Arsenal.
Even for a club with City’s resources, it will be a test and the Spanish boss fears things are only to get worse for clubs involved in European competitions.
Uefa have expanded the group stage of both the Champions League and Europa League meaning the calendar is getting more and more full.
And as far as the former Barcelona coach is concerned, all the meetings to try to find solutions are "useless".
His big fear is the physical and mental health of the players is going to suffer as a result.
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Pep said: “It's going to happen many times. When someone creates another new competition, it’s going to be even worse.
“It's impossible to fix all the schedules and calendars.
“People say with players and managers with the money they shouldn’t complain but it's not that - it’s about the health.
“Doctors especially say the bodies have to recover for four or five days. We did three and now two.
“We’re not going to change, the meetings are useless. If they decide they’re going to do it they’re going to do it.”
City play title rivals Arsenal next Sunday then go to Newcastle for a lunchtime kick-off on Saturday, September 28 – with both games already locked in for live TV coverage.
Normally the Carabao Cup game would be played on the Wednesday but that option was ruled out as Manchester United are at home in the Europa League that night.
So Guardiola’s men were told they would have to play on either the Tuesday or Thursday night – or switch the tie to Vicarage Road.
He said: “I prefer to play at home than go to London because this way our fans can watch this lovely, adorable team at home.
“That’s why I decided to play on Tuesday. If we had said Thursday we wouldn’t have time to recover to go to Newcastle.
“Hopefully we can select two teams and be fit and have no injuries but everyone knows the schedule will be tight this season.”
City were furious when their FA Cup semi-final against Chelsea in April was picked for the Saturday – even though they had played in Europe against Real Madrid on the Wednesday night.
Both Guardiola and match-winner Bernardo Silva publicly slammed the decision but the City boss does not see anything changing.
He said: “The week is seven days. We cannot create eight days a week or nine days a week.
MAN CITY are favourites to win the Premier League title yet again – but there is one elephant in the room that threatens to put the skids under the Etihad giants.
Sunsport’s MARTIN LIPTON discusses what the next few months could hold with Head of Sport SHAUN CUSTIS....
Custis: So the big question – will there be a resolution this season?
Lipton: Yes…. probably! We know the case will start to be dealt with in October or November.
It will take at least a month to go through the evidence. So I suspect around March, April time, we will get a result. But that’s where it starts to get tricky.
Custis: Why is that?
Lipton: If the result is in City's favour, that's the end of the matter. They will be cleared. They will have no punishment to face.
But if City are found guilty, these will be the heaviest penalties ever imposed by the Premier League.
I suspect if they are found guilty, they will be expelled from the league or given a massive points deduction and a huge fine so that they're not in the Premier League next season.
Check out the full discussion on Man City's future.
“So you have to fix all the games and the schedule is so tight it is impossible to handle. We just go for it.
“I learned when you are at a club in a lot of competitions it’s important to keep the energy to the moment of the game.
“So it is not about training good the day before or after because you need the energy for the 95 minutes you are going to play.
“Whether it affects the chances of injury or quality I would love to know but I don't know the consequences on injury or performance.”
Thomas Frank’s Bees were the last team to win at the Etihad – way back on the eve of the 2022 World Cup.
Guardiola hopes that is not an omen, saying: “I wish you’d not told me that. But it shows how well we have done – two years without losing a game at home. It’s good.”
“I don't remember an easy game against a Thomas Frank team, he’s a person who I admire.
“Since they were promoted, they have always been tough here and there and this will be no exception.”
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