Pep Guardiola's Man City fixture nightmare laid bare amid Champions League change

As far as Manchester City are concerned, the Premier League fixture list only tells one part of their story.

Pep Guardiola is expected to push for success in all competitions, and that can work both ways; victories in cups can help build momentum in the league, but too many games can lead to a drop in performance and crucial points. City always aim to be in contention for trophies when the final months of the season come round, but to do that next season they will have to overcome a monster run of fixtures in January and February.

Between January 25 and February 25, the reigning champions face Chelsea at home, Arsenal away, Newcastle at home, Liverpool at home and then Spurs away. Between the Arsenal and Newcastle matches, they could also play the second leg of a league cup semi-final if they make it that far as well as an FA Cup fourth round tie; realistically, the Blues are looking at at least one extra match.

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Then there is the newly expanded Champions League to consider. A group stage that features two more matches and runs until the end of January, means that nestled between league matches against Chelsea and Arsenal will be their final group game.

That could be at home to Shamrock Rovers but thanks to the changes to the competition it could also be a trip to the Bernabeu given City must play two matches against teams alongside them in the top pot. And if they do not reach the end of the group stages in the top eight spots - unlikely but a possibility - they must slot in a two-legged play-off to make the last-16 before the Newcastle