Shock starts and five undroppables - Pep Guardiola decisions in last Man City fixture gauntlet

Manchester City are braced for a critical fortnight for their hopes of winning three competitions this season. Pep Guardiola's side face Liverpool in the Premier League and FA Cup in April, with each game coming after a leg of their Champions League quarter-final with Atletico Madrid.

Come through the daunting challenges and they will be four games away from two cups, and close to a fourth league title in five years, but their chances of silverware this season could go up in smoke if all goes wrong. With so many tough games in such a short space of time, Guardiola will have to manage his squad perfectly.

Fortunately for City, they have experience of a similar run. Back in 2019 they played five games over a two-week period in three competitions that tested the group to their limit. Here is a look at how Guardiola managed that run.

READ MORE:Man Utd are showing Man City what not to do when Guardiola leaves

April 6: Brighton (n, FA Cup semi-final) W1-0

City only had three days to prepare for this trip to Wembley, having played Fulham and Cardiff in the week leading up to it. Guardiola went strong for this tie, with Kevin De Bruyne continuing his return from injury in a team that also featured Ilkay Gundogan, David Silva and Bernardo Silva.

Gabriel Jesus started with Sergio Aguero absent through injury, and the Brazilian scored the only goal of the game in the fourth minute before the Blues kept Brighton at bay for the duration of the game. Danilo came on for Kyle Walker at half-time, while Fernandinho and John Stones also came on in the second half to give players some rest.

CITY: Ederson, Walker (Danilo 46), Otamendi, Laporte, Mendy (Stones 79), Gundogan, De Bruyne (Fernandinho 65), Silva, Bernardo, Sterling, Jesus

Apr