City are without a midweek fixture following the 4-1 victory of Liverpool and it could be the last week-long break before the end of the season depending on how far we progress in the FA Cup and Champions League.
With the majority of his squad away on international duty before Saturday’s win over Liverpool, Guardiola has decided to give the players a chance to relax and recuperate ahead of the trip to Southampton on Saturday 8 April for the 17:30 (UK) kick-off.
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“They need to rest,” the boss said. “I was on holiday [during the international break] in my hometown in Catalonia but they were with their national teams - two games and in a hotel.
“[They can] clear their heads, if we continue, we will have a lot of games this month.
“We will have three days to prepare for Southampton then Bayern Munich, Leicester, Bayern Munich, Sheffield United, Arsenal.”
With a week between matches, Guardiola is also hopeful that top scorer Erling Haaland will be in contention for the trip to St Mary’s.
“He is getting better,” Guardiola added. “He felt a little better yesterday than the previous two days.
“Hopefully this week he will have time to be ready for Southampton and Bayern and he can help us in the way he has done all season.”
