Why Manchester City are likely to heavily rotate for Arsenal this weekend
Last Updated: February 18, 2021 3:48 pm
Guardiola admits team needs rest
Pep Guardiola has hinted that he is likely to rest a number of his key players over the week to come, with the fixture list intensifying amid the return of Champions League football.
“The schedule can get you depressed as it’s too many games,” said Guardiola after Man City’s win against Everton in the league yesterday evening. “The guys need rest but at the same time it is a beautiful challenge.”
Manchester City’s Ilkay Gundogan has to leave the pitch with an injury before being substituted during the Premier League match at the Etihad Stadium, Manchester. Picture date: Saturday February 13, 2021. (Photo by Rui Vieira/PA Images via Getty Images)
“We have the Carabao Cup final then we are back here for the FA Cup [at Everton]. We don’t look at the calendar just the next one. It’s non-stop but we recover well and try to win the next one.”
Manchester City face a testing run of fixtures over the weeks ahead, with a meeting with Arsenal followed by Champions League ties with Borussia Monchengladbach, sandwiching games against West Ham, Fulham and a potential title clincher against Manchester United.
“New ones” against Arsenal
Confirmation that the Sky Blues are likely to heavily rotate for the match against Arsenal on Sunday was provided in Wednesday’s post-Everton press conference, when Guardiola revealed that he has no choice but to make changes.
“If you see the schedule we had in November, December, January, we’re in the FA Cup, Carabao Cup, Champions League to the end and you see the schedule we have at the end of February and especially all March, when Premier League included two more games in that period against Wolves and Southampton we don’t have one week off so everybody is going to play,” he said.
The Spaniard added that he will be selecting a ‘new’ team for his side’s trip to the Emirates:
“Today is the decision and against Arsenal we’re going to play new ones.”
📢 Guardiola on rotation: “…we don’t have one week off so everybody is going to play.
“Today is the decision and against Arsenal we’re going to play new ones.”https://t.co/GHGgAPl0dU#fpl #dgw24 #CHpressers #mcfc #EVEMCI #dgw25 #rotation #doublegameweeks
— Colm Hayes (@ColmVHayes) February 17, 2021
John Stones, Kevin De Bruyne, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Fernandinho, Benjamin Mendy, Ferran Torres and Sergio Aguero were all on the bench last night, and could come into the side for the weekend.
BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND – JANUARY 12: Sergio Aguero of Manchester CIty celebrates after he scores his sides fifth goal during the Premier League match between Aston Villa and Manchester City at Villa Park on January 12, 2020 in Birmingham, United Kingdom. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)
This is the case for all except Aguero, who Guardiola admitted can only be an option from the bench at the moment:
“Sergio has been injured for a year, so cannot start from the beginning but is ready to come back. He was on the bench for the last game and will be again. When he can return he will do.”
Was Arteta right to rotate against Southampton in Arsenal’s FA Cup exit?
Thomas Tuchel suggests he will continue to rotate Chelsea squad following Burnley win
This article was edited by Conor Laird.
Football Live streaming: Featured matches on March 9
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| # | Team | MP | D | P |
| 1 | Manchester City FC | 28 | 37 | 65 |
| 2 | Manchester United FC | 28 | 23 | 54 |
| 3 | Leicester City FC | 28 | 16 | 53 |
| 4 | Chelsea FC | 27 | 17 | 47 |
| 5 | Everton FC | 26 | 6 | 46 |
| 6 | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 27 | 18 | 45 |
| 7 | West Ham United FC | 26 | 9 | 45 |
| 8 | Liverpool FC | 28 | 11 | 43 |
| 9 | Aston Villa FC | 26 | 11 | 40 |
| 10 | Arsenal FC | 27 | 7 | 38 |
| 11 | Leeds United | 26 | -1 | 35 |
| 12 | Wolverhampton Wanderers FC | 28 | -9 | 35 |
| 13 | Crystal Palace FC | 28 | -17 | 34 |
| 14 | Southampton FC | 27 | -11 | 33 |
| 15 | Burnley FC | 28 | -16 | 30 |
| 16 | Newcastle United FC | 27 | -17 | 27 |
| 17 | Brighton & Hove Albion FC | 27 | -8 | 26 |
| 18 | Fulham FC | 28 | -11 | 26 |
| 19 | West Bromwich Albion | 28 | -36 | 18 |
| 20 | Sheffield United FC | 28 | -29 | 14 |
| Player | Team | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| Salah, Mohamed | Liverpool FC | 17 |
| Kane, Harry | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 16 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United FC | 16 |
| Son, Heung Min | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 13 |
| Bamford, Patrick | Leeds United | 13 |
| Calvert-Lewin, Dominic | Everton FC | 13 |
| Vardy, Jamie | Leicester City FC | 12 |
| Gundogan, Ilkay | Manchester City FC | 11 |
| Wilson, Callum | Newcastle United FC | 10 |
| Watkins, Ollie | Aston Villa FC | 10 |
| Rashford, Marcus | Manchester United FC | 9 |
| Sterling, Raheem | Manchester City FC | 9 |
| Barnes, Harvey | Leicester City FC | 9 |
| Zaha, Wilfried | Crystal Palace FC | 9 |
| Lacazette, Alexandre | Arsenal FC | 9 |
| Aubameyang, Pierre-Emerick | Arsenal FC | 9 |
| Maddison, James | Leicester City FC | 8 |
| Ings, Danny | Southampton FC | 8 |
| Soucek, Tomas | West Ham United FC | 8 |
| Mahrez, Riyad | Manchester City FC | 7 |
| Player | Team | Red Cards | Yellow Cards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gallagher, Conor | West Bromwich Albion | 0 | 8 |
| Maguire, Harry | Manchester United FC | 0 | 8 |
| Bellerin, Hector | Arsenal FC | 0 | 8 |
| Milivojevic, Luka | Crystal Palace FC | 1 | 7 |
| Hayden, Isaac | Newcastle United FC | 0 | 8 |
| Lundstram, John | Sheffield United FC | 1 | 6 |
| Evans, Jonny | Leicester City FC | 0 | 7 |
| Egan, John | Sheffield United FC | 1 | 6 |
| Bissouma, Yves | Brighton & Hove Albion FC | 1 | 6 |
| Grealish, Jack | Aston Villa FC | 0 | 6 |
| Tielemans, Youri | Leicester City FC | 0 | 6 |
| Shaw, Luke | Manchester United FC | 0 | 6 |
| Klich, Mateusz | Leeds United | 0 | 6 |
| Doucoure, Abdoulaye | Everton FC | 0 | 6 |
| Hojbjerg, Pierre | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 0 | 6 |
| Xhaka, Granit | Arsenal FC | 1 | 5 |
| Romeu, Oriol | Southampton FC | 0 | 6 |
| Kante, N`Golo | Chelsea FC | 0 | 6 |
| Phillips, Kalvin | Leeds United | 0 | 6 |
| Luiz, Douglas | Aston Villa FC | 0 | 5 |
| Player | Team | Assists |
|---|---|---|
| Kane, Harry | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 13 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United FC | 10 |
| Grealish, Jack | Aston Villa FC | 10 |
| De Bruyne, Kevin | Manchester City FC | 10 |
| Son, Heung Min | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 9 |
| Rashford, Marcus | Manchester United FC | 7 |
| Cresswell, Aaron | West Ham United FC | 7 |
| Digne, Lucas | Everton FC | 6 |
| Sterling, Raheem | Manchester City FC | 5 |
| Maddison, James | Leicester City FC | 5 |
| Firmino, Roberto | Liverpool FC | 5 |
| Ward-Prowse, James | Southampton FC | 5 |
| Werner, Timo | Chelsea FC | 5 |
| Raphinha | Leeds United | 5 |
| Neto, Pedro | Wolverhampton Wanderers FC | 5 |
| Shaw, Luke | Manchester United FC | 5 |
| Robertson, Andrew | Liverpool FC | 5 |
| Willian | Arsenal FC | 5 |
| Bamford, Patrick | Leeds United | 4 |
| Vardy, Jamie | Leicester City FC | 4 |
