Sept 16 (Askume) – Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola said ahead of the start of the Champions League that his side would use their young players to cope with difficult situations in the coming weeks.
Pep Guardiola’s side are bracing for a storm as an independent hearing into 115 alleged breaches of Premier League financial rules by Manchester City is set to begin on Monday, two days before they face Serie A champions Inter Milan in the Champions League.
City then face Arsenal in the Premier League on Sunday and Watford in the Carabao Cup third round next Tuesday. Guardiola said his team must adapt to the upcoming season, in which they expect to play around 75 games.
Several City players, including Kevin De Bruyne, Manuel Akanji and Bernardo Silva, have expressed concerns about the expansion of this season’s Champions League and Club World Cup schedules .
“I have no problem (with the format),” Guardiola told reporters. “UEFA has made this decision and we want to be there, so we will play in this format.
“Yes, there are more games on the calendar, but it is what it is. What can we do? On Wednesday we play the best team in Italy and on Sunday we play the best opponent of the last two seasons.”
“Then there’s another game on Tuesday. We have an academy. We have to adapt and move forward. I love playing in the Champions League, so we’re going to play.”
The number of teams in all three European club competitions has been increased to 36 this season, with FIFPRO’s European member associations launching legal action against FIFA over the expansion of the men’s Club World Cup, to be held in the United States next June, to 32 teams .
Last season, England played the most back-to-back home games (87) among Europe’s top leagues, while Premier League clubs had the shortest average recovery time between games at 67.3 hours.
