Kevin De Bruyne knows he needs a break.
His whole team, actually, and Pep Guardiola is providing just that after Man City drew Burnley 1-1 at the weekend.
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City is about to play four matches in as many competitions over a span of 15 days: Home to Leicester City in the Premier League on Saturday, away to Basel in the UEFA Champions League three days later, at Wigan in the FA Cup on Feb. 19, and a Wembley date with Arsenal in the Feb. 25 League Cup Final.
Here’s De Bruyne on the stress and the break. From Sky Sports:“I was feeling it from the first minute,” he said. “I’ve said it before - you feel great for 10 games, then you feel OK for 10 games, and then the rest you feel like (expletive).
"(The break) will do us a lot of good,” said De Bruyne. “I’m going away, it doesn’t matter where.”
As for the challenges of playing a near-constant congested schedule thanks to thriving in four competitions? De Bruyne admits that’s part of life at City, and wanting to play on a top team. It doesn’t help that City is down six senior players right now.
Fortunately, De Bruyne and his boss have built a healthy lead atop the Premier League table and did not draw Premier League competition in the FA Cup, which allows them to prioritize a bit this month.