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Pep Guardiola said the gruelling demands placed on his Manchester City players by an intense schedule means he will be forced to make changes to his line-up in the coming weeks in order to protect their welfare.<\/p>\n
City face four games in 11 days, beginning with Tuesday\u2019s Champions League opener against Red Star Belgrade at the Etihad, before welcoming Nottingham Forest in the Premier League on Saturday.<\/p>\n
They play Newcastle in the Carabao Cup third round on September 27 and travel to Molineux to face Wolves three days later, all off the back of an international window that saw several of Guardiola\u2019s team endure long trips to and from South America.<\/p>\n
City came from behind to beat West Ham 3-1 at the London Stadium on Saturday, with Julian Alvarez and Ederson playing key roles despite having returned only days earlier from international duty with their respective national teams Argentina and Brazil.<\/p>\n
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Guardiola singled out West Ham\u2019s Edson Alvarez, who played for Mexico in their 3-3 draw with Uzbekistan in Georgia in the early hours of Thursday before starting for David Moyes\u2019 team on Saturday.<\/p>\n
He lasted 66 minutes before being withdrawn, but Moyes confirmed there was no injury and he was only looking to preserve Alvarez\u2019s fitness.<\/p>\n
Nevertheless, Guardiola shared his concerns over the impact the schedule is having on players.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is a problem when you have a lot of injuries,\u201d he said. \u201cThe problem is not today, it\u2019s in three, four, five games. We have the Carabao Cup away at Newcastle, I\u2019m sorry but we will have to use (from) the second team some players.<\/p>\n
\u201cKevin (De Bruyne) is still out, John (Stones) is still out, Mateo (Kovacic). Jack (Grealish). When you have all the squad you go to Newcastle with a good team and whatever. Right now, it is just to rest, to recover well, training (to get) fit and to arrive on the day of the game in the best condition possible.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe cannot waste energy because otherwise, these guys who have been playing for the national team, travelling from Bolivia (Julian Alvarez), from Brazil (Ederson) \u2013 it\u2019s so exhausting for them.<\/p>\n
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\u201cLook at Alvarez from West Ham, 15 or 20 minutes after half-time, he\u2019s out. Why? He\u2019s come from South America, he\u2019s jetlagged \u2013 12, 15 hours, he\u2019s come here, played against City. We treat the players in not a good way. We are so responsible for how we treat the players.\u201d<\/p>\n
Guardiola added that he was in awe of the physical condition of Kyle Walker, who returned to City\u2019s line-up after scoring his first goal for England in the draw with Ukraine and put in a clinical performance against West Ham.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would say I\u2019m not surprised (by his physicality), I\u2019ve worked with him for seven years,\u201d said Guardiola. \u201cBut I have to admit that when he is stable and happy, he has (this) ability.<\/p>\n
\u201cHis mum and dad gave him some genetics that our mum and dad didn\u2019t give to us.\u201d<\/p>\n