Manchester City’s manager, Pep Guardiola, has voiced his apprehensions about the team’s lack of recovery time due to the unavailability of a plane for their return journey following Wednesday’s League Cup match against Newcastle.
Normally, the team relies on train travel for their away fixtures within England, but this time, no planes are accessible for the late return from Tyneside.
Despite being treble winners, Manchester City has been unsuccessful in securing an alternative travel solution, forcing Guardiola’s squad to embark on a 142-mile coach journey back to Manchester.
This situation is far from ideal, especially as it marks the first of six away matches in the upcoming seven games for City. Guardiola is worried about the potential negative impact on the team’s performance if fatigue sets in.
The demanding schedule includes a third-round clash with Newcastle, followed by a Premier League match against Wolves, a Champions League fixture against German side Leipzig, and a crucial league encounter with title rivals Arsenal in London.
Guardiola expressed his frustration, stating, “We cannot come back by plane because we don’t have access to planes for the return journey, so we have to take a bus. It’s going to be two or three hours later than expected, and we will arrive here very late. The bus itself is not the problem, but the delayed arrival is concerning. On Friday, we have to travel to Wolves.”
He emphasized the significance of the Champions League match in Germany, saying, “We are heading to Germany to play in the Champions League, and it’s an extremely important game for us, given what’s at stake in terms of qualification for the next stage. This is the task at hand.”
Guardiola also acknowledged that he may have to field several players whom he would have preferred to rest against Newcastle because he believes relying on untested academy graduates against a team that recently routed Sheffield United 8-0 would not be wise.
He explained, “We cannot include some of the young players because we’ve sold many of them, and they are still not ready to play at our level. That’s why I need to provide them with more time to develop. They are still quite young to take on a challenging away match like Newcastle.”
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