Pep’s preparation for Dortmund – a day off

So far so good. Manchester City’s season has started with consecutive losses to Tottenham and Brighton but Pep Guardiola’s men have recovered since. The Citizens are sitting at the second spot in the Premier League while they recorded two wins and a draw in Europe. One of the reasons for such a good display is certainly Erling Haaland’s terrific form. The Norwegian has scored 13 goals in England and four in Europe so far, and is facing his former club Borussia Dortmund today. For this game, Pep Guardiola decided to do an unusual thing – to give his players a day off instead of doing a proper training.

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Guardiola has never canceled a training session on the eve of a European game before. The 54-year-old could stage a light session, focused on game-specific tactical work, on Wednesday morning. There are different opinions about his move. While some are saying that he is arrogant and thinks that his players will defeat Dortmund easily, the others point at the busy and tight schedule, City’s injuries and Pep’s wish to keep the players refreshed ahead of an important game. City can hit 10 points with a win over Niko Kovac’s side at the Etihad Stadium, only one point behind the tally they amassed from eight fixtures last year.

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Dortmund’s boss did exactly the opposite – he trained with his players as the Croat is famous for his fitness approach to football. On match day though, he only lets his players do a light warm-up on match day. For example, a popular activity with the team is playing football tennis at the hotel. But unlike Manchester, Borussia had two extra days to recover. Dortmund defeated Augsburg on Friday while City played a game against tricky Bournemouth on Sunday, which is something Guardiola has criticized.

"In Germany and France, they always try to play on Fridays; here it's the exact opposite" said the Spaniard.

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE - MATCHDAY 4

Wednesday

20.45: (7.00) Paphos (4.40) Villareal (1.47)

20.45: (8.00) Qarabag (5.30) Chelsea (1.35)

23.00: (3.20) Ajax (4.00) Galatasaray (2.15)

23.00: (2.05) Benfica (3.70) Leverkusen (3.70)

23.00: (5.50) Club Brugge (5.15) Barcelona (1.53)

23.00: (1.05) Inter (14.0) Kairat Almaty (45.0)

23.00: (1.45) Man.City (5.25) Dortmund (6.75)

23.00: (1.50) Newcastle (4.20) Ath.Bilbao (6.75)

23.00: (2.10) Olympique Marseille (3.75) Atalanta (3.50)

***odds are subject to change***