9 hours ago
2
Pep Guardiola has pulled a Champions League surprise by cancelling a routine training session the day before they play Dortmund
Pep Guardiola has taken the unprecedented step of cancelling training the day before Manchester City play in the Champions League.
The Blues were expected to train on Tuesday afternoon as part of their preparations for their match against Dortmund. Usually, the first 15 minutes of these sessions are open to media as part of a UEFA broadcasting agreement.
However, City stars have been given Tuesday off and will instead only reconvene on the day of the game. It is believed to be the first time it has happened at City in all their time in European competition this century.
The squad worked at the City Football Academy on Monday for a training and recovery session after the Bournemouth match. As is standard, those who hadn't started the match had a heavier workout, and the winning team on Monday consisted of Savinho, Tijjani Reijnders, Divine Mukasa, Rayan Ait-Nouri, Rico Lewis and John Stones.
All the players were then told by Guardiola that they would not be training on Tuesday. It is expected that the unusual call is to aid recovery, although the manager will elaborate on his decision in a press conference at lunchtime.
City will be targeting two wins from their two home European matches this month either side of the November international break to push for a top-eight place that will bring them direct qualification for the last-16. They face Dortmund on Wednesday and then Leverkusen later in the month.
"We want this season to qualify in the top eight. We know how important it is to not have those two extra games," said captain Bernardo Silva after the win in Villarreal last month.
"But yeah, we're happy with our momentum right now, with the way the team is playing."
City are currently on seven points after three games, with wins over Villarreal and Napoli together with a draw at Monaco. After their two home games this month, they head to Real Madrid in December and Bodo Glimt in January before finishing the first phase with a home game against Galatasaray.
Ilkay Gundogan and Leroy Sane will be set for warm receptions at the Etihad if they are part of the travelling squad for the Turkish side.
---
Here at the Manchester Evening News, we’re dedicated to bringing you the best Manchester City coverage and analysis.
Make sure you don’t miss out on the latest City news by joining our free WhatsApp group. You can get all the breaking news and best analysis sent straight to your phone by clicking here to subscribe.
You can also subscribe to our free newsletter service. Click here to be sent all the day’s biggest stories.
And finally, if you’d rather listen to our expert analysis then make sure to check out our Talking City podcast. Our shows are available on all podcast platforms, including Spotify and Apple Podcasts, and you can also watch along on YouTube.
English (US) ·