Man City have double advantage in 'absolutely absurd' seven-game run

Manchester City have been handed a bumpy welcome to the 'real' season after Pep Guardiola declared the opening rounds of 'pre-season' to be over.

The Blues are top of the Premier League after the first three matches, although will have to contend with another two competitions when their players return from international duty. They will also have to play two games in three days after problems around the scheduling of their League Cup match with Watford.

Guardiola will likely be asked for his opinion on Friday when he meets reporters, although Bernardo Silva has already described the schedule as 'absolutely absurd'. After four games in the first 21 days, City have seven in their next 21 before the players head off for national duty again.

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If that has the potential for bumps in the season, City do at least benefit from the quirks of the schedule. Following two out of their first three Premier League games in London, three out of their upcoming four are at the Etihad.

The League Cup awarded them a home time against Watford, and one of their two Champions League fixtures in this spell is at home. That gives five out of seven matches in Manchester for City to negotiate over the next three weeks.

One obvious benefit to that is rest and recovery; even though the schedule is busy, at least travel is at a minimum. Playing at home to Inter Milan on a Wednesday night is far better preparation to host Arsenal on the Sunday than Arsenal have with travelling to Atalanta on the Thursday before coming to the Etihad.

Home advantage is also something that City have used to