Has the schedule put Man City at a disadvantage against Arsenal?

Manchester City have so far handled a difficult test week with distinction, but their épineous task comes to an end on Sunday when they travel to Arsenal, the Premier League title rivals.

After defeating Manchester United last weekend, Pep Guardiola’s side travel to the Emirates and kick off their Champions League campaign against 10-man Napoli.

However, just 66 hours after the referee blew for full-time in their European match, City will be taking the field against Mikel Arteta’s side, giving them only two days to recover and put a tactical focus on the game.

Guardiola made a joke about going hiking in the mountains. “We will do that these two days.”

He continued, “I don’t know, Friday recovery. The players have a lot of injuries, but they can recover their energy for Sunday.

According to Guardiola, Premier League schedules place English teams at a disadvantage in Europe because they always place “the toughest schedules for the European teams in the important stages.”

Guardiola would have a case for gushing about the scheduling of their next game, even though he wouldn’t say it in public.

Arsenal won a match on Tuesday at Athletic Club, which started at 17:45 BST, while City’s match against Napoli, which was played at 20:00 on Thursday, kicked off at 20:00 BST.

The Gunners get two more days of rest and preparation for a crucial game in addition to this.

However, the quick turnaround of the data makes for surprising reading.

When comparing the previous five seasons, both City and Arsenal perform better in Europe two days after the game, versus four days later.

The lack of recovery and preparation between a Champions League game and a Premier League one seems to favor City in particular.

Their previous 15 league results, which date back to October 2020, demonstrate remarkably that they have won 11 games and drawn the other four while only having two days’ rest.

Players who have more yards to cover, such as central midfielders, are more likely to contract calf injuries, according to physiotherapist Ben Warburton, brother of Wales rugby union legend Sam. Pacy full-backs and wingers, who are sprinting more frequently, will also develop hamstring issues.

According to Warburton, “high intensity exercise requires 48, if not 72 hours, to recover from,” he told BBC Sport. You simply don’t have time to get good gym work in, as stated by the article when you play, say, on Tuesday and then, on Saturday.

With the number of sprint meters and the volume they cover, having strong and durable muscles is so important, especially in football. However, working out twice a week is not really the same as working out in the gym.

When you play with less time for preparation, you don’t get the quality work you need to do in the gym to prepare your muscles for all the intense work, leading to soft tissue injuries.

In a bid to improve their position, Arsenal have spent nearly £1 billion on new signings under Arteta, including £250 million this summer, in addition to finishing second in the league in each of their previous three seasons.

Before being appointed manager of Arsenal in 2019, Arteta spent three years coaching under Guardiola.

Because of his extraordinary management, Guardiola said, “Hopefully this season we can make a little more]of a] challenge.”

They increase the squad for the four or five transfer windows. Therefore, both the squad and the team are incredible.

The short turnaround between games becomes more difficult tactically as well, as does recovering. Each game week and how tactical preparation and analysis are managed varies, depending on the club, especially when kick-off times are varied.

Top clubs have employed several analysts in similar roles to distribute the workload in order to counteract the unpredictable schedule. Using analyst A to cover games one, three, and five and analyst B for games two, four, and six, for instance.

Top clubs have been known to have two analysts work on an opponent, one of whom is responsible for in-possession analysis and the other of whom is solely focused on out-of-possession findings, given the level of detail required. A dedicated coach is frequently required to deal with set pieces and the rise in their significance.

Clubs hold meetings to share their analytical findings in the lead-up to games, covering topics like set-pieces, possession plans, out-of-possession plans, and training reviews. Clubs will fit these in wherever and whenever they can, at the training facility, hotel, or changing area, so it becomes difficult to find a set schedule for them.

Clubs frequently use portable screens on flight cases to adjust, ensuring that everything is set up the same regardless of the changing room or hotel where meetings are held.

Top clubs have grown used to holding meetings every day because of the rigorous schedule, and the analysis team’s collaborative spirit helps players gather the most important information.

It is undoubtedly more difficult to devote enough time to all of the tactical analysis’ mentioned components, and it isn’t always possible to communicate new tactical ideas in a memorable yet straightforward way.

Every hour counts when it comes to outperforming your opponents, given the Premier League’s tight margins.