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."
New-look Germany make promising start with Serbia draw Germany's new-look team made a promising return to the international stage with a 1-1 draw against Serbia in a friendly on Wednesday
New-look Germany make promising start with Serbia draw
Virgil van Dijk has been ever-present for Liverpool so far this season but Jurgen Klopp says the defender could miss the Leicester game. Jurgen Klopp has confirmed Virgil van Dijk is a doubt for
Van Dijk a doubt for Leicester game, Klopp confirms - Sportstar
Football: Guardiola tips City as comeback 'heroes' LONDON • Pep Guardiola believes his Manchester City "heroes" have what it takes to turn things around after two straight English Premier League defeats.
Manchester City return to heroes welcome after winning
Football: New favourites Liverpool face two stiff tests of
With a bonus-point win over the Rebels in Melbourne on Friday night, the Chiefs are all but certain to secure their spot in the Super Rugby playoffs. Someway, somehow, in this weekend's final
Lady in red tipped to advance to Eurovision final where
cphpost.dk/news/lady-in-red-tipped-to-advance-to-eurovision-final-where-destiny-beckons.html
Lady in red tipped to advance to Eurovision final where destiny beckons. Anja Nissen, an Australian-born singer to Danish parents who won that country's third season of 'The Voice', is strongly tipped to advance to Saturday's final. Anja was an easy winner of the Danish contest (photo: Wouter van Vliet, EuroVisionary)
DESTINY BECKONS - YouTube
Dubai, Jan 22 (AFP) Son Heung-min's South Korea needed an extra-time winner to beat world ranked 113th Bahrain 2-1 as they stumbled into the Asian Cup quarter-finals in unconvincing fashion on
Son's Korea survive Bahrain scare to reach Asian quarters
Chelsea hold on against Brighton to consolidate top four spot 16 Dec 2018 - 18:51 Chelsea's Ross Barkley shakes hands with David Luiz after the match Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Couldridge
Chelsea hold on against Brighton to consolidate top four spot
Liverpool stun Barcelona to reach final with 4-0 comeback win NOBLE Champions League Semi Final Second Leg powerful header to make it 3-3 on aggregate. Liverpool then grabbed an
Official Liverpool FC Store | Liverpool FC Ball
AD
store.liverpoolfc.com/ball
Report Ad
Browse Our Wide Range Of Exclusive Liverpool FC Souvenirs. Shop Online Now.
Gonzalo Higuain has joined Chelsea on loan from Juventus for the remainder of the season, the Premier League club have confirmed. Chelsea then have the option to extend the loan deal for a season
Gonzalo Higuaín joins Chelsea from Juventus on loan with
Man City ready to pounce on any Liverpool slip-ups, says Guardiola Agency 15 Jan 2019 07:33 Guardiola: "We've done incredible numbers after last season, but one team has done better than us so far.
Man City ready to pounce on any Liverpool slip-ups, says
GOLTV is a Soccer focused Cable network which serves both the English and Spanish speaking soccer fans in the United States. GolTV USA - Solskjaer aims to replicate spirit of '99 at Manchester United Ole Gunnar Solskjaer hopes to replicate the spirit of Manchester United's treble-winners at Old Trafford as he plots a route back to the top for
Jorginho fired Chelsea to a 2-1 win at struggling Fulham on Sunday as Blues keeper Kepa Arrizabalaga began to make amends for his Wembley mutiny with an impressive display. Maurizio Sarri's side
Jorginho fires Chelsea to victory as recalled Kepa shines
Chelsea's Callum-Hudson Odoi is set to miss the rest of the season after rupturing his Achilles tendon in the 2-2 draw against Burnley on Monday night. The 18-year-old was taken off four minutes
Callum Hudson-Odoi: Chelsea winger to undergo surgery on
Guardiola stays cool despite shock Man City defeat 23 December 2018, MVT 20:44 Manchester City's Spanish manager Pep Guardiola arrives for the English Premier League football match between Manchester City and Crystal Palace at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, north west England, on December 22, 2018.
Football: Guardiola stays cool despite shock Man City defeat
Football: China all but confirmed as 2023 Asian Cup hosts
0 Kommentare:
Kommentar veröffentlichen