Pep Guardiola hits out at ‘disaster’ Christmas schedule

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has slammed the Premier League’s festive Christmas schedule as a “disaster” for players.

The runaway leaders play Watford this evening - their fourth match in 11 days - and will be without two of their key players after Gabriel Jesus and Kevin de Bruyne were injured in a goalless draw at Crystal Palace on Sunday.

Asked about the scheduling in the pre-match press conference, Guardiola said: “If you tell me that technically, physically, it’s good for the players - no, it’s a disaster.”

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The Spaniard, who is more accustomed to the Christmas tranquility of the Spanish and German leagues, continued:“It’s a tradition. I have to adapt. Sometimes you have three days’ recovery, sometimes four, sometimes two, everybody is the same.

“Last season we had less recovery than this season, maybe next season we will have a little more. It is what it is. This kind of thing I can give my opinion, but do you believe I am going to [get the authorities to] change something? No way.”

Sunday’s result brought to an end a run of 18 successive wins for City, and was also the first time they have failed to find the net in this season’s league campaign. Nonetheless, they still have a 12-point lead in the table with a game in hand as they prepare to play the last of their festive fixtures tonight.

Nor has the team suffered any more than their rivals. As BBC Sport points out, the side’s 246-hour break between their four matches over Christmas and New Year was comparatively long, compared with, for example, Leicester, who had only 213 hours between the start and finish of their quartet of fixtures.

Meanwhile, Manchester United played their fourth game in ten days last night, ending a run of three consecutive draws with a 2-0 win over Everton at Goodison Park.

Sam Allardyce’s side were strangely subdued - possibly feeling the effects of their own fixtures schedule - and second-half goals from Anthony Martial and Jesse Lingard eased the hosts to victory. The result lifts United back into second place in the league, two points clear of Chelsea (who play Arsenal tomorrow evening) but still 12 shy of City.

Paul Pogba had a lively game for United, perhaps motivated by the recent criticism he received from Paul Scholes who, in his capacity as a TV pundit, had accused the Frenchman of “just strolling through games”.

Asked what he thought of Scholes’ comments, United manager Jose Mourinho didn’t mince his words. “The only thing Paul Scholes does is to criticise,” he told the London Evening Standard. “It’s not Paul’s fault that he made much more money than Paul Scholes. It’s not Paul Pogba’s fault, it’s just the way football is.”

Tonight’s Premier League fixtures

• Southampton vs. Crystal Palace (7.45pm)
• Swansea City vs. Tottenham Hotspur (7.45pm, live on Sky Sports)
• West Ham United vs. West Bromwich Albion (7.45pm)
• Manchester City vs. Watford (8pm)

Tomorrow’s Premier League fixtures

• Arsenal vs. Chelsea (7.45pm, live on Sky Sports)