The decision to postpone Manchester City's trip to Arsenal this week could add further complications down the line for the Blues, with a possible title-decider now having to be squeezed into the New Year fixture schedule among three other competitions.
Had City travelled to the Emirates this week, they may have been facing an Arsenal side on top form and full of confidence, but at least they would have got a difficult fixture out of the way. As it happens, on the back of the eventful defeat at Liverpool, it could be a blessing in disguise not to face the Gunners now, as Mikel Arteta's men would have to defy plenty more expectations to remain top of the Premier League by the time it is eventually rescheduled.
Instead, City get a much-needed week off to rest and recuperate, working on the training ground to go again for the final seven fixtures before the World Cup. Without the prospect of a trip to the in-form league leaders, City can be confident of bouncing back with some hand-picked fixtures for rebuilding momentum.
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While the rest of their Premier League rivals slog it out this week, City can put their feet up and lick their wounds from their trip to Anfield. When they take to the field against Brighton on Saturday, they should have a point to prove and an ideal opponent for them to make it.
Brighton are without a win in four, without a goal in three, and haven't scored at the Etihad in their last four visits stretching back to 2018. They have one win in 11 meetings with City, and appear shot of confidence after blanks against Brentford and Nottingham Forest. If Guardiola was to pick an opponent to face this weekend to quickly restore confidence, it would likely be Brighton.
Then comes a Champions League trip to Borussia Dortmund, with City knowing a point will secure top spot in their group having secured qualification to the knockout stages last week. Dortmund won't be an easy game by any stretch, so City can rest some key players if needed against Brighton, and focus on securing that top seeding in Germany.
The ability to focus on Dortmund is aided by the following trip to Leicester, who are badly out of sorts this season and where pressure is building on Brendan Rodgers. With one win all season at present, Leicester are winless in six home meetings against City.
The King Power Stadium will never be an easy place to go, and Leicester have claimed some notable results against City in recent seasons, but this is as good a time as any to visit straight after a testing Champions League trip. And if the job is done in Dortmund, Guardiola can rotate to his heart's content against Sevilla at home the following week in a dead-rubber fixture.
With Fulham at home next up - who have lost 12 in a row against City, scoring just once in their last nine meetings - Guardiola realistically has two games to rotate his pack to be ready for a tantalising Carabao Cup clash with Chelsea.
While City have favourable fixtures before and after the visit of Chelsea, Graham Potter's side have Arsenal before coming to the Etihad and Newcastle after, plus two Champions League games that will need their full attention, and a clash with Manchester United in the games leading up to it. While City can prepare two or three games in advance for Chelsea, their visitors cannot.
And a final game before the World Cup sees Brentford visit the Etihad, who are embarking on another impressive season, but fell to tight 1-0 and 2-0 defeats to City last year. They know, and City know, that their survival or progress will not be defined by a trip to the Etihad, and many of their players may already be thinking of their mid-season holidays if they are not going to the World Cup.
Contrast City's fixtures to leaders Arsenal, who have Southampton, Nottingham Forest, Chelsea and Wolves in the Premier League, plus three Europa League fixtures and a Carabao Cup clash with Brighton. Those fixtures suggest City will be unlikely to end November ahead of Arsenal, but still will prefer their own fixture list to theirs.
Spurs can overtake City if they beat Manchester United this week, although they would likely have to take maximum points against Newcastle, Bournemouth, Liverpool and Leeds if they wanted to stay above City when the World Cup. Liverpool, to stay in touch after their win over City, have West Ham, Forest, Leeds, Spurs and Southampton as their fixtures.
So City will be confident of restoring some confidence and ending the first portion of the season with just one defeat to their name. It will be important to rack up as many points as possible, with a hectic run starting from Boxing Day against Leeds, Everton, Chelsea, United, Wolves and Spurs - plus potentially Carabao Cup quarter-finals and semi-finals, and FA Cup fixtures, too.
If they can stay within three points of Arsenal, and use their head-to-head games to assert their title credentials, they will be happy. To do that, they have to take full advantage of the opportunity presented to them in the next three weeks. If not, a tricky run after the World Cup becomes even more difficult.
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