Man City change Champions League routine after Manchester United concerns

Manchester City have made a change to their Champions League preparations to try to get used to playing on an artificial pitch.

Since the pandemic, the Blues have preferred to train at the City Football Academy the day before an away game in the competition before flying out to do a press conference at the stadium where they will play. UEFA rules dictate that the media duties must take place at the host ground - unless exceptional circumstances prevent it, such as the storm that delayed City's flight to Leipzig - but are not as strict with training.

However, Pep Guardiola and his players will be training at the Wankdorf Stadium in Bern on Tuesday night rather than having a session in Manchester in the morning. The aim is to familiarise themselves with the synthetic turf they will be playing on, given they are not used to the surface.

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Jose Mourinho raised concerns that players could get injured on the artificial surface after his United team beat Young Boys 3-0 in 2018, while Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Luke Shaw hit out at the conditions after they lost there 2-1 in 2021. "No excuses, we lost the game tonight, you can’t blame the pitch," Shaw said.

"But for Champions League, these pitches, they shouldn’t be possible. It’s dangerous. It’s hard to turn on."

City will hope that they can avoid injuries as they look to take another big step towards Champions League qualification and build momentum for the first Manchester derby of the season. The Blues head to Old Trafford on Sunday hoping to extend their six-point lead over the Reds, having finished above them in the table every