Man City ready to face Newcastle after Super Cup success, says Guardiola

Manchester City will be ready for their Premier League game with Newcastle United on Saturday despite having played in the UEFA Super Cup in Athens on Wednesday, manager Pep Guardiola said.

After their penalty shootout win over Sevilla, the City manager sarcastically thanked the Premier League for arranging the Newcastle game on Saturday.

Yet he said his side would be ready for the match at the Etihad Stadium, despite obvious fatigue.

“Of course we are ready. We need these type of challenges. We face difficulties with the injuries we have, the calendar. This is the challenge we have, to take a step forward,” Guardiola told reporters on Friday.

“People went to sleep at 4am in Greece when they played at 10pm. Arrive, recover with 35 or 40 degrees in Greece. Come back, arrive here late, and then it’s this game, tomorrow’s game, today we cannot train,” the manager said.

“This is why we won. Because we overcome all the time this kind of position. All the time we have less time to recover between the games, not a problem,” the Spaniard added.