Pep claims it's a dream to fight for title again as games come thick and fast

IT didn't escape Pep Guardiola's attention that the turnaround between City's win at Brighton on Thursday evening and the trip to Nottingham Forest is actually less than the much-criticised gap between the Real Madrid and Chelsea games last week.

- JOE BRAY

On kick-off times, he is right.

There is an hour less to prepare for Forest than they had against Chelsea. Given the Real Madrid game went to extra time, the gap is roughly the same. But Guardiola also factored in the travel time to return from the South Coast.

"We played at home against Madrid, we were in bed earlier than we are going to arrive today," he remarked after City's win at the Amex Stadium.

"Arriving at 2-3am is not good, the players have one to two hours less to sleep and have to wake up for recovery." Guardiola and his players, notably Bernardo Silva, took aim at the FA and broadcasters after that Chelsea game for making City play twice in under three days. Now it will happen twice in a week.

Guardiola put his players 'in the fridge' after the Wembley win, and will probably have put them straight back following the Brighton win.