Manchester City's return to competitive action on Thursday will be welcomed by all those who are not Pep Guardiola and his backroom staff.
While the festive period is a joyous time for football and supporters, some sympathy can still be mustered for Guardiola. The World Cup final will be a mere four days ago when City are expected to field a side that can compete against Liverpool.
Guardiola has complained that he 'does not have the players' available to him for Thursday's clash but did also mention that the vast majority of his World Cup stars will be returning to Manchester this week. At this stage, it is unclear whether their returns will mean they are able to feature this midweek.
