The March international break always feels like it comes at the worst time, and this year is no different as Manchester City wait to being their treble run-in for the Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup.
Pep Guardiola appears to have settled on his first-choice City XI for the most important of those games, with his recent selections showing that Phil Foden, Riyad Mahrez and Raheem Sterling are ahead of Jack Grealish and Gabriel Jesus in the attacking pecking order. Likewise, Ilkay Gundogan may not fancy his chances of playing in the biggest games from the start, with Bernardo Silva and Kevin De Bruyne seemingly the preferred options in midfield.
And in defence, the back four picks itself with Ruben Dias still out, so any squad players behind that first-choice team have some work to do to persuade Guardiola they can be counted upon in the next two months. For Jesus and Fernandinho, they are back in Brazil but not with the national team as they get some much-needed time off, so they must show their worth to Guardiola on the training pitch next week.
