Pep Guardiola reveals the bizarre way Man City have been preparing for vital clash with Fulham – as he warns about ‘massive’ difference that players must adapt to
- Pep Guardiola revealed City are training on longer grass this week
- He warned of Fulham’s ‘high and dry’ terrain, which he compared to Roland Garros
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Manchester City have let the grass grow on their training ground in anticipation of a ‘high and dry’ surface at Fulham this lunchtime.
Pep Guardiola revealed that his stars practiced on the specially prepared pitch on Thursday.
The City manager moaned last season that the Craven Cottage surface was ‘so long and so dry’ despite winning there, and is taking no chances as his side continue their quest for a fourth successive Premier League title.
“Yesterday we trained for part of the session with dry, tall grass to adapt, to feel it,” Guardiola said.
‘After we went to normal grass it’s a huge difference. Enormous. It’s completely different.
Pep Guardiola revealed Manchester City trained on a specially designed pitch to prepare for Fulham’s ‘high and dry’ Craven Cottage turf
City recorded a 2-1 win over Fulham in the title race last season and Guardiola moaned about the ‘long and dry’ surface
‘It’s like playing at Wimbledon and then at Roland Garros. We have to adapt. The passes have to be stronger.’
According to Premier League rules, match grass must not be longer than 30mm. Guardiola prefers the Etihad to be 20mm.