Kevin De Bruyne hopes that more rotation can see a return to normality at Manchester City.
A 2-0 defeat to Tottenham leaves the Blues in the bottom half of the table and they are yet to record consecutive wins in the Premier League after eight matches.
Pep Guardiola has consistently criticised the decision not to have five substitutes in the competition this season. However, in part because of a lengthy injury list but also because of his determination to generate rhythm in the team he has used several players as often as he can and not always used his full complement of three from the bench.
De Bruyne has played in every game he has been fit for including Carabao Cup games against Bournemouth and Burnley, with eight of his ten of a possible twelve appearances starts. Rodri and Kyle Walker are others in the squad who have been nearly always turned to as the manager looks for players that can start consistently.
City are eight points off the top of the table with a game in hand, a distance that looks easier to reach this season as all teams struggle with the physical demands caused by this year as they continue to play catch-up following a three-month break from the sport between March and June.
As the Blues aim for a more familiar position in the league, De Bruyne believes that rotation is currently necessary because of the fixture list and the condition of the squad.
"We always try to play our football, control the game and score goals. I hope we can recover some of the players out soon and we can afford to rotate a little bit, which is necessary at the moment with so many games going on," he said.
"We need to keep working hard and our level is going to get back. There are still a lot of games to play. The title race is going to be a battle. It's something that I expected even before the season started. It's going to be different this year, everybody knows that.”
