Man City Champions League form leaves Pep Guardiola with ominous fixture nightmare
Manchester City's season could be about to get even tougher after their lacklustre Champions League performances left Pep Guardiola with a fixtures headache. City barely clung onto survival in their European campaign following a narrow 3-1 victory over Brugge, which saw them scrape into the 22nd spot in the revamped Champions League group stage format.
Having suffered defeats to CP Sporting, Juventus, and Paris Saint-Germain, City's fate now hangs in the balance of a potentially perilous play-off round - with a trip to one of two European giants on the cards.
Their poor position at the bottom of the qualification places means that either City or Scottish neighbours Celtic will face a nightmare tie against either Guardiola's former side Bayern Munich or title holders Real Madrid to secure a spot in the Round of 16.
READ MORE: Can Mathys Tel play for Man United in Europa League? UEFA rules explained amid transfer links
READ MORE: Man City's triple boost for Real Madrid or Bayern Munich - but transfer headache looms
As if the news couldn't get any worse, the timing of the two games comes up against some of the most important league fixtures for the club.
In Friday morning's draw in Switzerland, UEFA will announce City to play their first leg knockout on either February 11 or February 12 just days before their huge clash against Eddie Howe's Newcastle, with both sides locked on 41 points and chasing a Champions League qualification spot.
If the player's legs weren't already tired, the following week will mark the second leg with the games expected to be played on February 18 or 19. But sadly for City fans, no matter the result of the tie, next weekend they'll face one of their toughest games of the season with a home match against the fierce-looking league leaders Liverpool.
With Guardiola now having to juggle his team schedule with two additional European fixtures, both Premier League matches will come against well-rested Liverpool and Newcastle squads with neither team having mid-week fixtures in the build-up to the City match, leaving the champions with a mountain to climb if they want to rescue their season.
