LIVE: Manchester City vs Luton Town – Premier League
Man City concede they are feeling the strain
Manchester City midfielder Rodri had pleaded for a rest after their 3-3 draw with Madrid, and conceded the squad are tired amid their busy campaign for three remaining trophies this season.
“Take a look at our games and you realise,” City manager Pep Guardiola said on Rodri’s comments. “It is simple. He is so important for the quality he gives us. But if you have a player that doesn’t want to play, he won’t play.
“I need to rest the centre halves also but in [England’s] friendly games, [John Stones and Kyle Walker] got injured so they yet cannot rest. We are in big, big trouble.
“I had the feeling we were tired in the last games.”
Premier League clubs approve semiautomated offside technology
The Premier League will introduce semiautomated offside technology next season to speed up decision-making after the clubs unanimously agreed on the move at a shareholders meeting.
The technology has been in use in major tournaments. It helps limit the need for long waits for VAR reviews, in which match officials manually check if a player is offside, while also reducing the margin for error.
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MANCHESTER CITY LUTO TOWN
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“The new system will be used for the first time in the Premier League next season, and it is anticipated the technology will be ready to be introduced after one of the autumn international breaks,” the league said in a statement after Thursday’s vote.
Luton Town celebrated their 139th birthday on Thursday
Luton Town were formed on April 11, 1885.
Their first match was a 3-0 defeat at Marlow in October 31, 1885 in the FA Cup.
Man City cannot look beyond Luton Town
Manchester City cannot be tempted to look ahead to next week’s Champions League game against Real Madrid, said manager Pep Guardiola, as his team host struggling Luton Town on Saturday in their bid to retain their Premier League crown.
Third-placed City, who have 70 points with seven games remaining and zero margin for error, can climb atop of the table on Saturday and crank up the pressure on Arsenal and Liverpool who share the points lead on 71.
“We have to [focus on Luton Town], the Premier League is so important,” Guardiola said on Friday. “It’s 11, 10 months we’ve been fighting for the title, we know what position we are in.”