Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola promises to not field a slightly weaker team when he brings his side to Atalanta BC for a Champions League group stage contest. Having taken nine points from nine possible so far, City looks to stay perfect in European competition this season.
In terms of rotation and rest, the big domestic showdown is coming on Sunday versus Liverpool, but an international break follows. Guardiola also gave some R&R to some of his stars last week in the EFL Cup, so that’s a factor as well.
“Do you think we can win four titles in one season if we prioritize games? No,” Guardiola responded when the question of resting players on Wednesday in advance of the blockbuster league fixture, was put to him.
“We’re going to play with the best team possible to win at Atalanta and after we go to Anfield. Nobody can assure me that if we don’t do what we have to do at Atalanta then we are going to make a better performance against Liverpool.”
“The best way to face Atalanta is the way we played against Southampton and the best way to go to Anfield is to play a good game against Atalanta, who have been fighting with the top clubs in Italy for the last two or three seasons. That is the point. They can score four, five six goals every game.”
“We are going to play with what we believe is the best team considering the regeneration, the opponents and the way they play, to make a good performance and qualify for the next stage of the Champions League.”
Manchester City Starting XI Prediction at Atalanta BC:
Ederson; Walker, Fernandinho, Stones, Mendy; Gundogan, B. Silva, De Bruyne; Mahrez, Sterling; Jesus
Manchester City vs Atalanta BC (UCL) FYIs
Kickoff: Nov. 6, 8pm San Siro
Manchester City team news: go to this link
Pep Guardiola and Player TBC press conference video: coming tomorrow
Google’s result probability: 63% Manchester City win, 20% draw, 17% Atalanta BC victory
Form Guide: Man City WWW Atalanta BC LLL
Prediction: Manchester City 3, Atalanta BC 1
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” regularly appears on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
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