Pep Guardiola mystery selection calls can help Man City vs Atletico

Pep Guardiola is the scourge of anyone who plays Fantasy Premier League because of his willingness to rotate when it is least expected, and he has also built his reputation in the Champions League as an overthinker. Raheem Sterling starred with two assists at the weekend, yet even he is not guaranteed to start against Atletico given Riyad Mahrez is also in excellent form.

Last season with the Premier League basically sewn up at this point, Guardiola developed two XIs: one for the Champions League, and another for the other games. This season, the one-point gap with Liverpool at the top of the table means that he can't afford to prioritise one competition as easily.

That should help the players. Those starting against Atletico have no idea whether they will be playing at the weekend against Liverpool or not, and nor do those on the bench. All they can do is give absolutely everything with the minutes they get to show why they are essential.

ALSO READ: Guardiola explains his Man City overthinking in Champions League games

There is no getting away from the magnitude of the Liverpool clash on Sunday, and the FA Cup tie is also coming onto the horizon. That competition is the least important of the three City are left in, but every game matters at the moment.

That makes any chance for a bit of relief a luxury, and if the Blues can build an advantage in the first leg against Atletico that take the pressure off their trip to Madrid next week for the second leg it will really help their games with Liverpool. They can't expect to rack up a similar scoreline to the one they did against Sporting in the last round, but a cushion of a few goals could prove key to making progress in three competitions.

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