Guardiola gives City players a day off before their clash with Dortmund

Pep Guardiola has taken the unusual step of giving Manchester City a day off before they meet Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League.

City’s players reported to the club’s training ground for a routine recovery session on Monday after Sunday’s impressive 3-1 victory over Bournemouth.

Guardiola informed the squad that they were being afforded additional time to themselves on Tuesday, 24 hours before their home tie with the Germans.

The decision is believed to have been made to keep legs fresh ahead of their fourth game of the competition. Guardiola has been consistent in his complaints at the packed schedule in recent seasons.

Guardiola has never cancelled a training session on the eve of a European game before. The 54-year-old could stage a light session, focused on game-specific tactical work, on Wednesday morning.

That is a move he has made in the past – noticeably before a crucial 4-1 victory over Aston Villa during the run-in two years ago, when City went on to clinch a fourth consecutive league title.

City can hit 10 points with a win over Niko Kovac’s side at the Etihad Stadium, only one point behind the tally they amassed from eight fixtures last year.

City have slowly welcomed back a number of players from injury, with Rayan Cherki making his first Premier League start since August at the weekend and Omar Marmoush clocking up two substitute appearances in recent days.

Mateo Kovacic, expected to be out for months after a setback during his return from a long-term Achilles injury, was the only unavailable player on Sunday.