Man City stars forced to SLEEP at training ground overnight before Everton clash

Manchester City's struggling stars will be forced to sleep overnight at the club's training ground ahead of their Boxing Day clash with Everton at 12.30pm.

Pep Guardiola revealed his charges will be towed from their family home and insisted he hopes they will embrace the measure with open arms.

City have lost nine of their last 12 games, the worst run of Guardiola's career as manager, and last tasted victory on December 4 against Nottingham Forest.

Their stars were given the morning and afternoon time with their loved ones, and it is not unusual for footballers to be brought in later on Christmas Day.

They introduced the overnight sleeping measure in 2014, becoming the first Premier League club to do so, effectively using the 'Etihad Campus' as a hotel on the night before lunch at home games. Their base has 80 bedrooms with sleep-enhancing wallpaper, while £150,000 was spent on mattresses and pillows.

“We'll train today (Tuesday), we'll train tomorrow night (Wednesday), we'll stay here and we'll play on Boxing Day,” Guardiola said.

“Hopefully they want to be here because it's our job.”

Everton have proven their qualities in recent times with a 4-0 win over Wolves before holding Arsenal and Chelsea to a 0-0 draw.

City will be hoping to counter an alarming decline in form that has seen them drop to seventh in the Premier League and four points behind fourth-placed Forest.

They had lost just nine in their previous 106 matches before this torrid 12-match spell, in which they suffered just as many defeats.

City have been bottom of the Premier League table for the last eight games and have collected a paltry four points – one less than second-worst Southampton, who recently sacked Russell Martin and replaced him with Ivan Juric.

In any case, they have called the players' wives and girlfriends to the club's Christmas party in an attempt to cheer them up.

The likes of Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva and Ilkay Gundogan seemed to enjoy the occasion as their partners posted black and white photos on Instagram.

Gundogan and wife Sara went to the photo booth together with Silva and his wife Ines Degener Tomaz.

Guardiola added: 'This situation is new for all of us. It's about us, everyone. The boys are running and trying harder than ever.

'People say we're not fighting, it's this player, this manager – that's not what it's about.

“It's a lot of small details or some big details that don't make us as good as we were. But on Boxing Day we still have a chance.

“Players are coming back and at some point we will be better.”

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