Manchester City could use a break. However, they won’t be able to take the sunny trip to Saudi Arabia they enjoyed last December to escape their Premier League issues and come back refreshed with a gold badge on their shirts to indicate their new status as world champions. They will no longer receive the winter break that the Premier League briefly implemented to help alleviate fixture fatigue. After having a few days to recover from their tough 43-2 draw with Crystal Palace, which prolonged their recent poor form to just one win in their last nine matches, Pep Guardiola and his team must quickly refocus for a Champions League match in Turin, where losing to Juventus is simply not an option. Ranked seventeenth in the giant league standings, they are more concerned about falling out of the top 24 than about qualifying automatically for the knockout stages as one of the eight best teams. Failing to secure three points will diminish their control over their future. READ MORE: Guardiola appears disheartened while providing a bleak injury update for City. A Manchester derby just four days later doesn’t seem like a great week, but Ruben Amorim’s team had an even rougher weekend than the Blues, as the team and club in Trafford fell deeper into chaos. Following that, the calendar opens up with six full days before they travel to Aston Villa, along with a holiday fixture list that isn’t too demanding. After facing Juventus, City will have a series of five Premier League matches before competing in another tournament. At present, the teams are situated in 13th, 6th, 15th, 16th, and 14th places. This doesn’t assure City of any points—Crystal Palace, currently in 16th, managed to take two points from the Blues over the weekend—but the upcoming matches appear to be more favorable than they could have been. Guardiola is optimistic that his team will be in better condition during a stretch of five league matches in February against Chelsea, Arsenal, Newcastle, Liverpool, and Tottenham. Having a week off between the matches against United and Villa should also help.
