For the upcoming Premier League match between Manchester City and Manchester United at Old Trafford, Pep Guardiola claims he is thinking of “crazy” ideas.
Wednesday’s Carabao Cup quarterfinal between Manchester City and Southampton is their first match, but the manager is already planning how to beat their nearby opponents.
Guardiola stated, “I have a few ideas, thoughts – ridiculous ones against United – but still I didn’t watch their last games,” Guardiola said. “I have to see the way they play at home and if they change something. I still have to review it; that is why I don’t have a clear lineup [yet] against United.”
Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne were rested by Guardiola for the Cup victory against the same opposition at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday. This was after Manchester City defeated Chelsea in the FA cup match on Monday. Guardiola will choose players for the derby based on their freshness.
“The [Cup] game against Chelsea I made a lot of changes for one reason: how tired I saw some players after the game [in London], after the trip. We arrived too late back and in the training the day after I saw the players tired. It also depends on those who didn’t play against Chelsea. I would like to arrive against United with the average of minutes in the legs of the players quite similar.”
Guardiola’s history of wins
What a manager Pep Guardiola is!!! It’s all well signing great players but it’s the manager that makes the team tick & holds the key to any successful team. pic.twitter.com/VztIrQaljI
— Frank Khalid OBE (@FrankKhalidUK) January 11, 2023
On Twitter, fans posted a photo of Guardiola’s wins for the clubs that he managed. It appears that he helped Manchester City win the English Championship three times. The other two times were third place and second place.
His strategies might work against Manchester United, as Ten Hag in a previous article done on sportsry that has shown that he has not won that many trophies. Ten Hag has a good record when it comes to data and statistics, however that does not win trophies.
However, some fans are sceptical with Guardiola’s methods as they mentioned that he has been in strong clubs like Barcelona and Manchester City. On Barcelona’s end, they will constantly win trophies due to the nature of the club.
On the other hand, Manchester City keeps winning due to them having an abundant amount of money to spare on powerful players. Furthermore, City has Erling Haaland, who again will make records now that the FIFA World Cup is over.
Other fans stated that Guardiola should try managing the Wolves in order to test his managerial skills. With that said, a solid team does not necessarily mean a win for the manager, case in point: Graham Potter.
Potter inherited a solid, strong team built by Thomas Tuchel. However, look at where Chelsea is now. Chelsea fans are not surprised if their beloved team does not win any trophies for the foreseeable future due to Potter’s managerial skills.
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