Manchester City’s underperforming players had to stay overnight at the club’s training facility before their 12.30pm Boxing Day match against Everton. Pep Guardiola mentioned, according to the Daily Mail, that his team would be taken away from their families and expressed hope that they would accept this decision positively. City has experienced a poor run, losing nine of their last 12 games, marking the worst period in Guardiola’s coaching career, with their last win on December 4 against Nottingham Forest. The club first implemented the overnight stay policy in 2014, becoming the first Premier League team to do so, effectively utilizing the ‘Etihad Campus’ as accommodation for home games played at lunchtime. Their facility features 80 bedrooms decorated with sleep-promoting wallpaper, and £150,000 was invested in mattresses and pillows. “We train today (Tuesday), we’ll train again tomorrow (Wednesday) night, stay here, and play on Boxing Day,” Guardiola stated. “Hopefully, they want to be here because that’s our job.” Everton has recently demonstrated their strength with a 4-0 victory against Wolves, followed by goalless draws with Arsenal and Chelsea. Meanwhile, City is looking to recover from a concerning dip in form that has dropped them to seventh in the Premier League, four points behind fourth-placed Forest. Previously, they had only lost nine out of their last 106 matches, but during this difficult 12-match stretch, they have faced defeat as often. Over the last eight games, City sits at the bottom of the Premier League form table, having earned just four points, one less than the next lowest team, Southampton, which recently replaced Russell Martin with Ivan Juric. Do they have what it takes? Forecast and Earn Millions Today. Sign up now. Do you have what it requires? Forecast and Earn Millions Today. Sign Up Now
