MANCHESTER, United Kingdom (AFP) - Pep Guardiola insisted on Friday (Jan 11) he will be happy if Manchester City have no time for a mid-season break, because it will mean they are still competing for every trophy.
City's rivals Manchester United took the opportunity this week for a warm-weather training trip to Dubai, allowing boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer time to work on his squad's fitness.
Guardiola did take his players to Abu Dhabi last March, after their surprise FA Cup fifth round defeat at Wigan left them with a free week.
The City boss will consider a similar trip this time round if an early FA Cup exit leaves a gap in their match schedule.
But he acknowledges that it may be difficult to fit in such a break if City remain in the hunt for all four major prizes.
"Hopefully not, because that means we continue in the FA Cup and especially in the Champions League. We will see. If not, then we will have this time in summer time," Guardiola told a press conference.
"Last season, it was quite similar. But then after Wigan beat us in the FA Cup, we went there."
City are still in contention for a quadruple of Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup and League Cup titles, something that has never been achieved in the English game.
They took a significant step towards winning one of those trophies on Wednesday, thrashing third tier Burton Albion 9-0 in the first leg of their League Cup semi-final.
It means that, barring something extraordinary in the second leg on January 23, City will feature in the final at Wembley on Feb 24.
That creates another barrier to a potential winter vacation as their league fixture at Everton, scheduled for the previous day, would have to be rearranged.
"Did you see the schedule this morning? I saw the schedule, and the Everton game will be fixed for another week, so we don't have many (spaces in the schedule for a warm-weather break), so we'll see," Guardiola said.
TITLE RACE
City, having taken a step towards a cup final, resume their attempt to catch leaders Liverpool in the Premier League title race on Monday, when they host Wolves.
Guardiola's side, in second place, are four points behind Liverpool after beating them 2-1 at the Etihad Stadium on Jan 3.
It was Liverpool's first league defeat of the season, and may have increased the pressure on a team trying to become champions of England for the first time since 1990.
But Guardiola rejected the suggestion that he is happier chasing than leading.
"I prefer to be in Liverpool's position," he said.
Guardiola hopes to have Sergio Aguero back for the Wolves match, with the striker having missed City's past two matches because of illness, while Vincent Kompany is close to recovering from a muscle problem.
City have found it tough keeping pace with Liverpool, despite collecting 50 points from 21 games, a better average this season than Barcelona, who are top of La Liga.
Barcelona have collected 40 points from 18 games, an average of 2.22 per match, while City's average of 2.38 is currently only good enough for second place.
"The Premier League is incredibly tough," he said. You don't realise how tough it is until you are here for the amount of games, the weather, the time needed for players to recover."
City must prove setback is temporary, Football News & Top
Sebastien Loeb made a fitting start to his bid for a ninth World Rally crown by dominating from the front on the second day of Monte Carlo. The Frenchman had trailed Ford's Jari-Matti Latvala
Telus profit slips; tops rivals on new wireless subscribers
Home Contact Us Get Listed Directory About Us Consumer Portal Client Portal the internet pages.co.uk England Scotland Wales Ireland
The Sports News page - Rediff.com
Luis Suarez to miss China Cup for Uruguay due to ankle sprain Luis Suarez, 32, is expected to miss between 10 and 15 days after limping off late in Sunday's 4-1 win at Real Betis in La Liga.
Injured Luis Suarez Ruled Out of China Cup - News18
Gareth Bale '100 per cent' committed to Real Madrid despite
What Man United's draw with Huddersfield means for Arsenal, Chelsea & Tottenham in top-four race. How the battle for the top four looks after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's Manchester United drew with bottom side Huddersfield Town
Man Utd miss out on top four after draw at Huddersfield
Marquinhos, Kylian Mbappe, Angel di Maria and Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting scored PSG's goals in their first outing since their disastrous exit from the Champions League in the last 16 at the hands of
Football: PSG thrash Dijon in first outing since Champions
Mar 22, 2019 · England got their Euro 2020 qualifying campaign off to the ideal start, with Raheem Sterling hitting a hat-trick in the 5-0 thrashing of the Czech Republic at Wembley
England vs Czech Republic: Raheem Sterling scores hat-trick
Southampton secured their Premier League status for another year after a thrilling 3-3 home draw with Bournemouth on Saturday as Cardiff City slumped to a 1-0 defeat at Fulham. The draw put
Southampton stay up after thrilling 3-3 draw with Bournemouth
sportsunderstand.com/2019/04/27/southampton-stay-up-after-thrilling-3-3-draw-with-bournemouth/
12:18 PM ET * Southampton stay up after 3-3 draw Bournemouth * Shane Long opened the scoring for the home side * Dan Gosling equalised and Callum Wilson put Bournemouth in front * James Ward-Prowse levelled for Southampton * Matt Targett scored a second-half header to put hosts in front * Wilson got his second
Southampton stay up after thrilling draw with Bournemouth
global.espn.com/football/report?gameId=513481
Southampton secured their Premier League status for another year after a thrilling 3-3 home draw with Bournemouth on Saturday as Cardiff City slumped to a 1-0 defeat at Fulham. The draw put Southampton in 16th place on 38 points, seven ahead of Cardiff and four clear of Brighton & Hove Albion with two games left to play.
Football: Southampton stay up after thrilling 3-3 draw with
Football: Messi torments Liverpool with 600th Barca goal in 3
(Reuters) - Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg scored the goal as Southampton withstood a second-half onslaught from Brighton & Hove Albion to secure a vital 1-0 Premier League victory on Saturday. The win put
Brighton 0-1 Southampton: Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg strike seals
Former Liverpool midfielder Dietmar Hamann has made a bizarre claim about Tottenham Hotspur following their stadium move. The Lilywhites celebrated their long-awaited move to their new stadium in midweek with a 2-0 victory over Crystal Palace, which lifted Mauricio Pochettino's side back to third in the table - although Arsenal have a game in hand.
Rumour Has It: Tottenham to splash the cash for Poch
0 comments:
Post a Comment