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.
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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
April 9: Tottenham (a, Champions League quarter-final first leg) L1-0
Aguero returned to the starting line-up for this Champions League test, and the surprising team news came at left-back where Fabian Delph was brought in for just his third start since 2018 and his first since he had been subbed with the team 2-0 down at Swansea in the FA Cup. Aguero missed a penalty, and Delph was culpable as Son Heung-min scored the only goal late in the second half to give Spurs the advantage for the second leg.
The other notable aspect of the game was Guardiola's reluctance to risk losing too much control. Despite the team being behind on the night, Leroy Sane and De Bruyne were only introduced from the bench for the final seconds.
CITY: Ederson, Walker, Otamendi, Laporte, Delph, Fernandinho (De Bruyne 89), Gundogan, Silva, Mahrez (Sane 89), Sterling, Aguero (Jesus 71)
April 14, Palace (a, Premier League) W3-1
City finally left London but were back days later to pick up their league title slugfest with Liverpool. De Bruyne and Sane came into the starting XI and so too did Vincent Kompany, in instead of Nicolas Otamendi at the back to partner Aymeric Laporte.
De Bruyne fed Sterling early to put City into the lead and they were able to control the game with further goals from Sterling and Jesus, allowing them briefly to return to the top of the table before Liverpool won later that day (meaning they had played a game more). Guardiola made three subs to see the game out and keep things fresh.
CITY: Ederson, Walker, Kompany, Laporte, Mendy, Gundogan, De Bruyne, Silva (Bernardo 65), Sterling, Sane (Stones 87), Aguero (Jesus 75)
April 17: Tottenham (h, Champions League quarter-final second leg) W4-3 (lost tie on away goals)
Kompany kept Otamendi out for this crunch game and Guardiola brought Bernardo in for Sane. With Gundogan keeping the holding midfield role, De Bruyne partnered Silva. The game was one of the most dramatic in City and Champions League history, with seven goals, VAR controversy, and a last-minute Sterling winner ruled out on review.
CITY: Ederson, Walker, Kompany, Laporte, Mendy (Sane 84), Gundogan, De Bruyne, Silva (Fernandinho 63), Bernardo, Sterling, Aguero
April 20, Tottenham (h, Premier League): W1-0
City had to pick themselves back up off the floor against the same opponents at the same stadium if they wanted to keep their Premier League title hopes alive. Ederson, Walker, Laporte, Gundogan, and Sterling started their fifth successive game as Guardiola made clear how essential they were to his plans.
Oleksandr Zinchenko came in at left-back having missed the previous four games with injury, and Phil Foden was handed a rare league start as the City boss turned to the fresh-faced teenager at a critical stage. Foden rewarded that faith with the game's only goal as the Blues picked up three points that would help them ultimately win the league.
CITY: Ederson, Walker, Stones, Laporte, Zinchenko, Gundogan, De Bruyne (Fernandinho 38), Foden (Silva 85), Bernardo, Sterling, Aguero (Sane 66)
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