After enjoying Sunday off following their 1-0 win at Leicester the day before, Manchester City's players were back in training on Monday and Tuesday ahead of their Champions League meeting with Sevilla on Wednesday.
City secured top spot in their group and with it a place in the last-16 with a goalless draw away to Borussia Dortmund last week. The fact that Sevilla are guaranteed to finish third in the standings means Wednesday's meeting will be a complete dead-rubber, but that doesn't mean that Pep Guardiola and his players' match preparations haven't been as thorough as ever.
There were a few interesting things we spotted at City's open training session on Tuesday afternoon.
READ MORE: How City should line-up vs Sevilla in final Champions League group game
Right at home
Pep Guardiola is expected to rest a few key players and give minutes to others against Sevilla, explaining why there were a few new faces in training on Tuesday.
Rico Lewis and Josh Wilson-Esbrand have been regular fixtures in the first-team squad this season, particular for Champions League games. They were joined in training by fellow academy products Dire Mebude, Carlos Borges and Jardel Katongo, all of whom have impressed for the EDS this season.
All three looked right at home in training, and while it's unlikely any will feature against Sevilla, the experience will be a valuable one.
Captain Ilkay
As the players warmed up at the start of the session, Ilkay Gundogan showed one of the many reasons why he was elected City's captain over the summer.
The German midfielder does not come across as a natural leader during games, but leadership isn't all about barking orders. As soon as Gundogan saw the three youngsters he went over shook hands with each of them - it might not seem significant, but how you relate to your teammates and young players in particular is an important part of being captain.
Nobody likes warming up
Anyone that has played football at any level knows the slog that is being forced to do stretches in the driving rain when you want to do is either kick a ball or retreat to shelter.
Professional footballers feel like that sometimes - even Kevin De Bruyne. Before the session started in earnest the players gathered in a large circle and their coaches led them in different stretching exercises.
Let's just say that De Bruyne's efforts looked more Sunday League than Champions League. The midfielder - fresh from scoring a spectacular free-kick at the weekend - even pulled out the trick of tying both his boot laces when everyone else was performing a hamstring stretch.
Palmer fit
When asked during his Tuesday press conference if Cole Palmer would feature against Sevilla, Guardiola said he'd have to assess the youngster in training that afternoon.
On the basis of what we saw he expects to be involved - Palmer looked fit and didn't appear to be in any discomfort.
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