Pep Guardiola and Juanma Lillo set for rare Matheus Nunes opportunity at Man City this week

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola will take the international window to continue his rest following his back surgery in Barcelona but he will keep a very keen eye on how his players fare for their countries.

The Blues are blessed with the cream of the crop when it comes to elite talent so most of the squad will be away from the Etihad for the next week. They leave having kept a 100 per cent Premier League record on the back of a 5-1 victory over Fulham.

However, there is certain to be more planning going on ahead of Guardiola’s return to the touchline. Here are three things he may consider over the next few days.

Rare Nunes opportunity

Perhaps initially Guardiola and step-in Juanma Lillo will look inwardly towards the players who remain. Matheus Nunes has not been picked for Portugal and so City will get the rare chance of helping a new summer signing bed in more directly, both on a work and personal level.

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Nunes’ transfer came quite quickly so it will hand the midfielder some extra breathing space to take it all in. Several academy youngsters will be handed the opportunity to get the lion’s share of the senior coaching staff’s attention and look to make an impression too.

Load management

Having quality players within the squad means they will likely get used prominently for their countries. City managed to bolster the depth of the squad in the final few weeks of the summer but Guardiola by no means has a deep roster.

With John Stones, Kevin De Bruyne and Jack Grealish suffering varying degrees of injuries, City are only a couple more problems away from having their squad stretched. They have the quality to survive that, but a notable turnover of players