Key Takeaways
- Manchester City must play four matches in an 11-day period during a crucial stage of the season
- The schedule includes the FA Cup final against Chelsea sandwiched between two away trips
- Club bosses are frustrated that it took three months to confirm the new dates
Manchester City bosses have criticised the Premier League over a difficult fixture list next month. The team must play four matches in only eleven days during the decisive phase of their hunt for trophies.
Manager Pep Guardiola will send his side out against Crystal Palace at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday, 13 May. Three days later, they face Chelsea in the FA Cup final at Wembley. They then travel to the south coast to meet Bournemouth on Monday, 19 May.
Both league games were moved from their original dates. The match against Palace was meant for 22 March but officials postponed it because of the Carabao Cup final against Arsenal. The Bournemouth fixture shifted due to the FA Cup final.
Club leaders are angry about the delay in confirming these dates. They say the Premier League knew about the scheduling conflict on 4 February. That was the date when City beat Newcastle United to book their place in the Carabao Cup final. However, the decision took almost three months to finalise.
City offered three different weeks for the Palace fixture. These fell in the weeks starting 20 April, 27 April and 4 May. But these options did not work. The match against Burnley took the first slot. Crystal Palace’s involvement in the Europa Conference League blocked the remaining choices.
Premier League officials waited until after the FA Cup semi-finals to announce the dates. They wanted to give supporters clear information about when games would happen.
UEFA rules state that no games should clash with the Europa League final on 20 May. This explains why the Bournemouth match moved to 19 May. But City point out that Arsenal played Wolverhampton Wanderers on 18 February. That same evening featured four Champions League knockout matches.
The champions suggested playing Bournemouth on 12 May and Palace later in the week. This would have given players an extra day to recover before the Wembley showpiece. They also proposed facing Palace on Tuesday, 19 May. But Palace must play Brentford on Sunday, 17 May. This is because the FA Cup final takes place on Saturday. Playing again after just 48 hours was not realistic for the Eagles.
Sources say the Premier League has a guideline stating that FA Cup semi-finalists should play in the first available midweek before those ties. But the Bournemouth game has instead been placed in the week after.
The current arrangement leaves the Sky Blues facing three games in seven days. They must cover long distances during the most important period of the campaign. The club remains in contention for a historic domestic treble.