Manchester City are in the midst of a wretched run of form and, in a bid to arrest their slide, manager Pep Guardiola is in no mood for festive cheer
Manchester City’s players will sleep at their Etihad Campus training facilities on Christmas night as they bid to arrest their alarming slide in form.
The Blues host Everton at 12.30pm on Boxing Day amid a run of just one victory in their last 12 matches in all competitions. They ordinarily stay together the evening before a home game, and Guardiola is insistent they will not change their routine despite the festivities.
Instead, City’s stars have spent Christmas morning with their families and will convene at the training ground for an evening session before settling down for the night. “We train today (Tuesday), we train tomorrow (Wednesday) night, we will stay over here and we are going to play on Boxing Day,” Guardiola said.
When asked if his players would mind sleeping at the training ground on Christmas Day, the Spaniard bluntly replied: “Hopefully they want to be here, because it’s our job.” City’s dismal run of form continued on Saturday as they were beaten 2-1 by Aston Villa.
It means, remarkably, they enter the jam-packed festive schedule in SEVENTH position in the Premier League having been crowned champions in the last four seasons. They find themselves behind Nottingham Forest and Bournemouth, and a mammoth 12 points behind leaders Liverpool.
Guardiola and his side must now turn their attentions to getting back on track and securing Champions League football next term. The club also still has the 115 charges court course hanging over them.
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Amid their wretched form, the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich boss added: “This situation is new for all of us. It’s about us, everyone. The guys are running and making an effort more than ever.
“People say we are not running, fighting, it’s this player, this manager – it is not about that. It is about many little details or some big details that make us not as good as we were.
“But we have another opportunity on Boxing Day. We have players coming back and at a certain time we will be better.”
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