straight to your inboxPep Guardiola has said that Kevin De Bruyne is too important to rest over the Christmas period.
The Manchester City midfielder, who picked up another gong on Thursday to recognise his outstanding level over the past 18 months, started the West Brom game just days after the derby with United.
City's manager has had to manage the Belgian's fitness over the last few years and he missed a few matches earlier in the season with fatigue.
Southampton is the start of five games for the Blues over 16 days over the festive period that include trips to Everton and Chelsea - two teams above them in the table - and a Carabao Cup quarter-final at Arsenal.However, Guardiola does not expect to have to keep De Bruyne sidelined for any.
Read more on manchestereveningnews.co.uk