Pep Guardiola 'special advisor' can be critical to Man City recovery

Manchester City could do with Rodri back to face Liverpool.

Or Ruben Dias, who can improve and organise the whole backline at his commanding best. Or a fully fit Kevin De Bruyne, able to produce moments of matchwinning magic that nobody else in the Premier League can.

Pep Guardiola knows that he can't have any of that in time for Sunday, and there is little chance of overtired legs recovering from the heavy workloads that have been forced upon the small group of players that have avoided injuries this season. What he can do is try to change the mindset to offset those factors.

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Jurgen Klopp coined the phrase but City have been mentality monsters for years in order to win four Premier League titles in a row. "You are tired? F*** you," was a crude but fitting moment captured of Guardiola back in the Centurions season of how the players pushed through physical barriers.

The reality can be a lot more nuanced, and City's problems in their six-game winning run have transferred from physical to mental. Tired legs make for tired minds but after the Spurs defeat the manager also referenced that the players were inside their heads with negative thoughts when they suffered bad moments in the game, causing them to relapse rather than respond; Ilkay Gundogan admitted it was particularly tough mentally after the Feyenoord collapse in a game he felt as a defeat rather than a draw.

There is also psychology around Anfield itself, a ground where Guardiola has a wretched record - City's only win there in nine attempts under him came during Covid restrictions when no fans were