Man City squad is well-equipped to deal with Club World Cup and Afcon hurdles

Ahead of the upcoming International break, every club will be affected by players leaving their squads to play for their country.

When players return from qualifying matches and club friendly, coaches must watch their players play while taking into account the possibility of injury and exhaustion.

Additionally, they will undoubtedly strive to retain fitness throughout the season given the rising amount of fixtures for the majority of league clubs.

However, many teams may feel the effects of the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations in January this year after the hectic holiday season, as players may leave the Premier League season to have the chance to win the continental championship.

Coming off of Christmas and having to handle a smaller squad makes this a challenging time for managers in general.

Additionally, Manchester City’s chances of winning the title may have been harmed by their entry into the Club World Cup, another competition.

You’d like to assume that the Citizens would keep as many players as possible and improve the squad depth despite the fact that they could play 67 games throughout the season before the Club World Cup.

They have also lost a number of important players from the team, including Riyad Mahrez, Ilkay Gundogan, and Cole Palmer, despite the additions of Josko Gvardiol, Matheus Nunes, Mateo Kovacic, and Jeremy Doku.

With the matches taking place in Saudi Arabia from December 12 to December 23, which is already a busy time for Premier League clubs, it would be expected that the squad will be sufficiently stretched going into January.

The competition is being conducted from January 13 to February 11, therefore City’s absence of African players in the lineup might help them defend their crown.

And since the Champions League’s round of 16 is set to start on February 13 and 14, Guardiola’s team should be entirely healthy and free of any AFCON-related fatigue or injuries.

Additionally, Guardiola appears to be constructing his team from the ground up, just like he did with James McAtee and Cole Palmer in the past.

The introduction of Rico Lewis and 20-year-old Oscar Bobb, who appears to be an interesting potential, has been demonstrated. Oscar Bobb will be able to develop as a member of the team and will be able to use the academy prospects to ease the fixture overload.