Sunday Mirror (Northern Ireland)
ROBBIE FOWLER Pep will go all-out for the Champions League glory he really craves for City
I don’t agree with Jurgen Klopp’s decision to leave his youth team to compete in the FA Cup – and most definitely not with his choice to miss the game.
But I can understand it. The reality is, it’s not the most important thing on the radar, by any means. In fact, it’s a bloody inconvenience.
Not only is the replay with Shrewsbury in the middle of an important break for his players – with Mo Salah and Sadio Mane not getting any real time off in two years – but the fifth round presents a massive headache too.
People don’t seem to have noticed, but it’s in midweek this year – the first Tuesday and Wednesday in March – which would mean another headache for Klopp (above) trying to juggle games.
Going to Chelsea, if they win next week, he can hardly send a team full of kids.
But, believe me, he’ll be thinking there’s a genuine chance of an incredible Champions League and Premier League double now.
You wouldn’t bet against them. City look the next strongest in the European competition – and they’e beaten them in it over two legs already.
So, while for me the FA Cup is still a big deal – and the competition I used to sit in front of the TV glued to from 9am – I accept he has other priorities.
» I’VE been laughing at how a certain sports channel has been trying to hype up the most boring transfer window in history!
January is not a place to do business for clubs in the Premier League, the level demanded is tough to find in the middle of a season.
And it’s no coincidence the likes of Liverpool and City haven’t bothered. It’s about long-term planning.
I’M sure he won’t admit it publicly, but the time has already arrived where Pep Guardiola will go all-in for the Champions League.
He knows, like we all know now, the title is done – that Liverpool aren’t going to lose seven games before the end of the season, when they haven’t lost seven in their last 100 Premier League matches.
Not that he’ll chuck in the towel, obviously, but I’m convinced we’ll now see him start to change his teams around the European games and start to give younger players a little bit more of a chance in the league. He has to. The title is gone and, to me, second place looks fairly assured, given that Leicester have hit a bit of a bad run, which was always coming.
Liverpool are head and shoulders above the rest, but it will hardly be a disastrous season for Manchester City if they can win the three cup competitions… especially if one of those is the European trophy (above) the club craves.
In fact, I’ve been pretty convinced all season that’s the one Pep really wants.
He has the luxury of a squad so strong he can rotate without people knowing and I think he’s been doing that with the Champions League in mind.
David Silva hasn’t been used quite as much as usual and that will help keep him fresher for the big games coming up.
In fact, if you look at the squad, no one has been an everpresent – because he’s sharing the matches around.
City are a brilliant side. An incredible team. Their record is not that much worse than the past two seasons and you can see them finishing 10 or more points ahead of third place.
It’s just that they have come across an even better team this time around. Just as Liverpool did last season, when City were also incredible.
That’s why Pep knows his team have an outstanding chance in Europe. They haven’t quite had that consistency of the last two years this season, but, when they’ve been on it, they’ve still been unbelievable.
With less pressure in the league, with players rested before the big European games, they will fancy beating anyone.
Real Madrid won’t hold any fears for them at all… especially with Aymeric Laporte back and with Silva and Sergio Aguero being treated a little more carefully.
In saying all that, I think Jose Mourinho will relish coming up against Pep this afternoon. For him – and I know exactly how his mind will be working – it’s a chance to show the world he can still compete against the best.
If City are even a tiny bit distracted, Mourinho will find a way to hurt them. Things haven’t gone well for him at
Spurs, he’s struggling with a squad that badly needed refreshing and now he has a couple of reinforcements.
You can expect a similar setup to the way he played against
Liverpool. It was pretty ugly, in truth, but it almost got a result.
He can hurt City.
I remember him taking his Chelsea side to the Etihad a few years ago, when he had just gone back there, and producing a tactical masterclass to get a win.
If he does, that will make Guardiola even more convinced he has to concentrate on the Champions League – and delivering the trophy his owners really want.