Pep Guardiola often talks about his preference for having a small squad so that every player can stay motivated and avoid too much time sitting on the bench. He recently remarked that the 27-man roster that Manchester City have taken to the Club World Cup is "too big", with by far the most crowded area within the squad being in attack. The embarrassment of riches at Guardiola's disposal was illustrated by the fact the coach changed his entire starting XI from their opening win over Wydad AC for their second fixture, against Al Ain, which they won 6-0.
Even after leaving Jack Grealish and James McAtee at home, Guardiola came to the United States armed with 17 players who can play as midfielders or forwards. And while the massive numbers have proved to be a luxury so far as they have allowed the City to keep his players as fresh as possible, the rotation will have to slow down as the team go deeper into the tournament and the opposition gets stronger, beginning with Thursday's clash against Juventus.
City have to win their final Group G clash with the Bianconeri to finish top and likely avoid a last-16 meeting with Real Madrid. So how exactly does Guardiola fit all his wonderfully talented players into his team and pick his most formidable starting XI?