John Stones says fatigue will be Manchester City's biggest test
Monday 22 January 2018 23:30, UK
John Stones has warned that fatigue could be the main factor stopping Manchester City from becoming the first English club to win all four competitions in one season.
Pep Guardiola's side have already played 35 matches but would play another 28 games if they were to win the Champions League, FA Cup, EFL Cup and Premier League.
Stones, 23, believes City's defeats to Shakhtar Donetsk and Liverpool were partly down to tiredness and is now understanding how tough it is going to be for City to make history.
Stones said: "The four competitions we are still in, the amount of games compared to some other teams, you know it takes a toll, no matter how much you rotate the squad.
"We obviously wanted to go unbeaten through the whole Premier League season," he added. "I'm sure every team does, but it's such a difficult thing to do.
"I think sometimes you have got to hold your hands up and say: 'we gave it our best shot' - which we did."
City go into their Carabao Cup semi-final second leg against Bristol City on Tuesday, live on Sky Sports Football, with a 2-1 aggregate lead from their first leg.
