Manchester City have been given the day off on Tuesday ahead of their Champions League clash with Borussia Dortmund in a move Pep Guardiola has never done before
Pep Guardiola
Pep Guardiola has taken action to rest his players ahead of Manchester City's Champions League clash with Borussia Dortmund
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In an unprecedented move, Pep Guardiola has cancelled Manchester City's training session the day before their Champions League match against Borussia Dortmund. City were scheduled to train on Tuesday afternoon as part of their preparations for the game.
The first 15 minutes of these sessions are typically open to the media under a UEFA broadcasting agreement. However, the City stars have been given Tuesday off and will only regroup on the day of the match.
This is believed to be the first time such a decision has been made at City in their European competition history this century. On Monday, the squad trained at the City Football Academy for a recovery session following their match against Bournemouth.
As per usual, those who didn't start the match had a more intense workout. The winning team on Monday included Savinho, Tijjani Reijnders, Divine Mukasa, Rayan Ait-Nouri, Rico Lewis and John Stones, reports the Manchester Evening News.
Guardiola then informed all the players that they would not be training on Tuesday. It is thought that this unusual decision is to aid recovery, although the manager will provide further details during a lunchtime press conference.
City aim to secure two victories from their two home European matches this month, either side of the November international break, to push for a top-eight spot that will guarantee them direct qualification for the last-16. They face Dortmund on Wednesday and Leverkusen later in the month.
Pep Guardiola
Pep Guardiola has given Manchester City players a day off ahead of Wednesday's game with Borussia Dortmund
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"We want this season to qualify in the top eight. We know how important it is to not have those two extra games," skipper Bernardo Silva said following last month's triumph in Villarreal. But yeah, we're happy with our momentum right now, with the way the team is playing."
City currently sit on seven points from three matches, having beaten Villarreal and Napoli whilst drawing at Monaco. Following their two Etihad fixtures this month, they travel to Real Madrid in December and Bodo Glimt in January before wrapping up the opening phase with a home clash against Galatasaray.
Former City stars Ilkay Gundogan and Leroy Sane can expect warm welcomes at the Etihad should they feature in the Turkish side's travelling party.
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