‘I need a rest’ - Man City star reveals Pep Guardiola selection plan ahead of Luton clash

Rodri has admitted he needs a rest after a gruelling schedule for Manchester City that has seen the Spanish midfielder play four games in 10 days since the resumption of club football at the end of March.

The 27-year-old is one of only three City players to start all of the last four matches, and he put in uncharacteristically disappointing performances against Crystal Palace and Real Madrid over recent days. Rodri lost possession four times in the first period at the Bernabeu and last weekend, against Palace, nearly cost his side a goal with an ill-advised back-pass to Stefan Ortega.

The ex-Atletico Madrid man has made more starts than any other City player this season and only Phil Foden has played more minutes. But amid such an underwhelming run of form, Rodri appears set for a rest, and he confirmed after the 3-3 draw in Spain that Guardiola plans to rotate him at some point.

"I do need a rest,” Rodri told reporters in Madrid. “I do. Let’s see how we speak, how we live the situation. Sometimes it is what it is. I need to adjust. [Rest] is something we are planning, yeah.

"Every one of us can do better, even myself. But we need to rest to be honest. Phil has been sensational in terms of him scoring a goal when he needed to score. This is the talent he has.”

With Luton Town up next, Rodri’s next opportunity for a break seems obvious, especially with the game against a relegation-threatened club coming in between the crucial Champions League double header against Madrid.

The game is perfeclty poised ahead of next week’s reverse fixture at the Etihad and, despite Rodri and City putting in a subpar showing in the first period on Tuesday, a second-half fightback saw the European champions take the lead via goals from Foden and Josko Gvardiol, before Federico Valverde’s late equaliser.

"We showed our mentality to come back,” said Rodri. “The media has spoken about rest and it’s important. They were a bit fresher in the first half than us, it’s normal.

"But I think the mentality of the team to go against them and come back with those goals sums up the mentality of the champions we are. It was a good result for us in terms of how the game was and everything is open. It’s one game in our home now and we are very strong there.

"If we copy the first 20-30 minutes of the second half it’s going to be difficult for them. We will need our crowd to be there for us."