SHOCKING! Man City Just Got a HUGE BOOST for Next Season – But the Premier League Wont like it !
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND – DECEMBER 10: Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola leads a warm-up session during a UEFA Champions League training and press conference at the Manchester City Football Academy on December 10, 2024.
A Rare Break for City’s Stars
As Manchester City’s players sit on the sidelines watching European football unfold this week, they might feel some disappointment—but their legs certainly won’t. Years of relentless pursuit of every possible trophy have left the squad physically drained, and now, after off-field struggles led to an earlier-than-expected exit, they finally get a much-needed breather.
With only the FA Cup left to fight for alongside securing a top-four finish in the Premier League, City find themselves in unfamiliar territory. It has been a long time since they had such a reduced fixture list.
Between early March and the conclusion of the domestic season, Guardiola’s squad is scheduled to play 13 matches. Should they advance further in the FA Cup, that total could rise to 14 or 15.
To put that in perspective, their workload during the same period in previous seasons has been far heavier—playing 18, 22, 19, and 21 games over the past four years, respectively.
This significant reduction in matches means that, if City secure a top-four spot early—something a victory at Nottingham Forest this weekend would help solidify—Guardiola will have the luxury of rotating his squad and managing player fatigue in the season’s final stretch.
Premier League Won’t Be Happy
The Premier League might not be thrilled if they feel City is prioritizing rest over competitive intensity. They had already resisted efforts to delay next season’s start to accommodate City’s participation in the Club World Cup.
However, the silver lining of an underwhelming campaign is that what initially seemed like a packed schedule with little recovery time has now opened up.
“We will be giving players days off, allowing them to refresh because we believe that in this competition, quality matters more than quantity,” Guardiola explained when discussing the upcoming weeks.
He emphasized the importance of using this rare opportunity to train properly and reset. “We’ll use full training sessions to prepare for our key game against Forest. After that, we have a week before Brighton, then the international break, and the FA Cup.”
Balancing Rest and Next Season’s Demands
While this period of reduced fixtures provides an advantage now, City will still face the challenge of jumping straight from the Club World Cup into the next Premier League season. Should they win the FA Cup, they will also have the Community Shield to contend with.
City’s performance staff will already be planning strategies to manage the added workload and prevent injuries. The early start to the next campaign presents its own difficulties, but at least for now, Guardiola and his squad can use this unexpected rest period to stay physically and mentally sharp—something they wouldn’t normally have the chance to do.
