Pep Guardiola says he has prioritised rotation after recalling Joao Cancelo, Kyle Walker and Phil Foden to his Manchester City team to take on Chelsea in the Premier League.
City are in West London to tackle Chelsea, knowing a win will return them to within five points of leaders Arsenal. Chelsea, though, also need to win to keep their ambitions alive, as they sit tenth in the table before kick-off.
In order to lead City to a positive result after their setback vs Everton, Guardiola named the three senior players in his starting lineup, hinting that the trio haven't been in the best physical condition and that led to them being overlooked since the World Cup.
ALSO READ: Chelsea vs Man City live match updates
Speaking to Sky Sports, Guardiola said: "Everybody asked for this lineup, I follow my fans! We're not going to discover what they mean Kyle and Joao and these people, they come back from World Cup with niggles, don't come back settled. And Rico [Lewis] and the other guys have been fantastic.
"Before every game the guys ask me the reason why [I select each team], sometimes is not a specific reason why. I want to rotate the team, get everyone involved. Sometimes I pay attention for the opponent, sometimes for the tactics or the quality of the players we have, I don't care for the tactics today.
"There's not one specific reason I decide. Since I arrived, I'm not a guy who plays 11 players every time. Because you cannot handle the locker room. When the players don't play they have to have the feeling they can play at a certain level. 11 months if one guy doesn't play, it's not nice.
"I take a look individually how they are when they come back, the happiest by far was Julian [Alvarez]. Step by step, take a look first day, second day, how they're training. It is important to look at the body language, the mood, how they look. Try to take a good decision with the lineup. Step by step the guys come back to reality and ready to play every game."
Reflecting on the title race, where City begin the game eight points behind Arsenal, Guardiola reiterated his ambition to put a winning run together and put pressure on the Gunners.
He continued: "I'd prefer to be eight points in front! At the same time I had the feeling, if you win 4 PLs in 5 years, it's not normal to be eight points clear with all the top clubs that we have. It's to be there, close, lots of games to play, and try to maintain the level we're playing and make a good run of victories.
"[We are at] Stamford Bridge, [we've had good times] and bad ones too. Top side, the job Graham has done in Brighton has been amazing, we face him in the FA Cup with Swansea, struggle a lot. An active team. every manager needs time, my first season wasn't perfect and we finished third. He's here four months with a World Cup, every manager needs time. I'm pretty sure he's a top-class manager."
READ NEXT:
