Pep Guardiola mentioned the gruelling calls for positioned on his Manchester City gamers by an intense schedule means he might be pressured to make modifications to his line-up within the coming weeks with a purpose to shield their welfare.
City face 4 video games in 11 days, starting with Tuesday’s Champions League opener towards Red Star Belgrade on the Etihad, earlier than welcoming Nottingham Forest within the Premier League on Saturday.
They play Newcastle within the Carabao Cup third spherical on September 27 and journey to Molineux to face Wolves three days later, all off the again of a global window that noticed a number of of Guardiola’s workforce endure lengthy journeys to and from South America.
City got here from behind to beat West Ham 3-1 on the London Stadium on Saturday, with Julian Alvarez and Ederson taking part in key roles regardless of having returned solely days earlier from worldwide obligation with their respective nationwide groups Argentina and Brazil.
Guardiola singled out West Ham’s Edson Alvarez, who performed for Mexico of their 3-3 draw with Uzbekistan in Georgia within the early hours of Thursday earlier than beginning for David Moyes’ workforce on Saturday.
He lasted 66 minutes earlier than being withdrawn, however Moyes confirmed there was no harm and he was solely seeking to protect Alvarez’s health.
Nevertheless, Guardiola shared his considerations over the affect the schedule is having on gamers.
“It is a problem when you have a lot of injuries,” he mentioned. “The problem is not today, it’s in three, four, five games. We have the Carabao Cup away at Newcastle, I’m sorry but we will have to use (from) the second team some players.
“Kevin (De Bruyne) is still out, John (Stones) is still out, Mateo (Kovacic). Jack (Grealish). When you have all the squad you go to Newcastle with a good team and whatever. Right now, it is just to rest, to recover well, training (to get) fit and to arrive on the day of the game in the best condition possible.
“We cannot waste energy because otherwise, these guys who have been playing for the national team, travelling from Bolivia (Julian Alvarez), from Brazil (Ederson) – it’s so exhausting for them.
Access unlimited streaming of movies and TV shows with Amazon Prime Video
Sign up now for a 30-day free trial
Sign up
Access unlimited streaming of movies and TV shows with Amazon Prime Video
Sign up now for a 30-day free trial
Sign up
“Look at Alvarez from West Ham, 15 or 20 minutes after half-time, he’s out. Why? He’s come from South America, he’s jetlagged – 12, 15 hours, he’s come here, played against City. We treat the players in not a good way. We are so responsible for how we treat the players.”
Guardiola added that he was in awe of the bodily situation of Kyle Walker, who returned to City’s line-up after scoring his first purpose for England within the draw with Ukraine and put in a scientific efficiency towards West Ham.
“I would say I’m not surprised (by his physicality), I’ve worked with him for seven years,” mentioned Guardiola. “But I have to admit that when he is stable and happy, he has (this) ability.
“His mum and dad gave him some genetics that our mum and dad didn’t give to us.”
