Kevin De Bruyne Talks NFL Wembley Pitch Fears Ahead of Tottenham vs. Man City

Manchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne is concerned about what condition the Wembley Stadium pitch will be in on Monday, when his team take on Tottenham Hotspur.

The two Premier League sides will play at the national stadium a day after the NFL clash between the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Philadelphia Eagles. That will be the third NFL match in as many weeks at the venue.

Given City and Spurs will face off just over 24 hours after the Eagles and Jaguars do battle, De Bruyne has said he's not expecting an ideal playing surface, per Jack Gaughan of the Daily Mail.

"It's going to be difficult," the Belgian said. "I'm not sure how it's going to be. We hope it will be OK and we can play like we normally do. These games are the most important ones. A big game. We have to go and show our intent to stay on top"

De Bruyne also said it's something City had to contend with in pre-season and that "it's not nice."

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As Gaughan noted, City manager Pep Guardiola also has worries about the surface ahead of what is a crucial game.

There have been two NFL matches at Wembley this season, with the Los Angeles Chargers taking on the Tennessee Titans a week after the meeting between the Seattle Seahawks and the Oakland Raiders on Oct. 14.

Following the first match, Gregg Bell of the News Tribune showed what kind of state the Wembley turf can be left in following an NFL game:

Given Sunday's match will kick off at 2:30 p.m. BST and will finish roughly three hours later, it doesn't give organisers too much time to get the pitch in shape for the Premier League meeting on Monday night, which starts at 8 p.m.

The implications of the game's date will hinder City further too. While the NFL fixture means this upcoming match against Tottenham was moved to a Monday, it also means their Carabao Cup tie with Fulham has been shifted back to Thursday. They then face Southampton on Sunday in the Premier League.

While the possession-based football instilled by Guardiola at City may be hindered by a chewed-up surface on Monday, their squad is better equipped than any in the league to deal with a large workload.

Not only has De Bruyne returned from injury recently, but the champions also appear to be clicking into an irresistible gear as an attacking force. They hammered Burnley 5-0 in the Premier League on Saturday and beat Shakhtar Donetsk 3-0 in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday.