Pep Guardiola warns of slow Manchester City start against United, Chelsea, and Ipswich Town this season | OneFootball

Manchester City could see a slow start to their upcoming 2024/25 season, and particularly in their opening three fixtures, according to manager Pep Guardiola.

The Premier League champions are currently in the United States for their pre-season preparations on a four-match tour of the east coast of the country, with meetings against some of the most iconic football clubs on the planet.

Pep Guardiola and his players have however succumbed to two narrow defeats in their opening two matches this summer, with a 3-4 loss at the hands of Celtic in North Carolina, following up by a 2-3 defeat to AC Milan in New York City.

Attentions now turn to a meeting with FC Barcelona in Orlando, Florida, as Pep Guardiola looks to intensify the preparations and fitness regimes to get his first-team players as close to full match sharpness as possible.

But with the pre-season tour squad largely limited to a handful of regular first-team stars, and Academy players making up the rest of the travelling contingent, Guardiola has issued a stern warning to fans ahead of the start of the competitive campaign.

Speaking to reporters earlier this week, the Manchester City manager warned of his side ‘arriving late’ in the upcoming season, earmarking three fixtures as potential slip-ups in a slow start for the Premier League champions.

“We will arrive late but not (just) against Manchester United, against Chelsea and Ipswich too,” he said. “We will be late. It’s about trying not to drop many points, try to compete well. We don’t have players because they have to rest.”

Guardiola continued by pointing the finger once again at football governing bodies and league and competition officials, for their lack of care for the wellbeing of players throughout the course of a season, as well as the short breaks handed to athletes.

“If the big bosses and all the institutions like FIFA, UEFA and the Premier League don’t think about the players then the managers have to think about them, otherwise they will die,” Guardiola went on to explain, as relayed by MailSport.

“It’s too much. That’s why three weeks or one month is necessary, but the competition is there and you have to adapt. There’s no solution, there will not be a solution because there is no intention to find a solution.

“The clubs have to travel to show our brand around the world, to let other continents and places see our players, and we have to adapt. We would like to have had proper preparation but it’s impossible because national teams deserve to play and every institution like FIFA and UEFA and local competitions want to defend their product and make games.”

But while Manchester City’s first-team stars have had little to no time to get their preparations under way for the new season, with their holiday periods still ongoing, Guardiola has reassured supporters that the Academy system is ready to step up if required.

“We have a good squad when everybody comes back. We have three, four, five interesting (young) players just in case we need them. We will do what we have done in the previous seasons when we have had success having the same calendar as this year.”

The large majority of Manchester City’s first-team stars are expected to report back for pre-season training at the City Football Academy on Monday 5 August, with the meeting against Manchester United scheduled for the following weekend.

Manchester City’s Premier League season will then get underway exactly a week later, as they travel to face Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on the opening weekend of the campaign, with a meeting against Ipswich Town scheduled as their first home encounter.

At present, it remains unknown as to when City could welcome back their European Championship final stars, with Guardiola insisting that the decision is largely in the hands of Rodri, Kyle Walker, John Stones, and Phil Foden themselves.