Manchester City have asked the Premier League to reschedule two games to avoid a conflict during the run-in as they battle it out with Arsenal for the title.
Pep Guardiola won’t be happy in the Premier League (Image: Robin Jones/Getty Images)
Manchester City are likely to play four games in 12 days to finish the season after the Premier League ignored demands for a shortened schedule. Josep Guardiola’s side, who are level with Arsenal in the title race, recently reached the FA Cup final (Saturday, May 16), forcing a rescheduled away game to Bournemouth.
City have already been booked to face Crystal Palace on Wednesday, May 13th, giving them limited time to recover for the final. Palace were unable to play on Tuesday due to Conference League commitments and a last-minute schedule change saw their match against Everton moved to Sunday 10 May.
Mirror Football reports that Etihad bosses have asked the Premier League to change the order of matches between Palace and Bournemouth, hoping to finish the season with matches played on Tuesday, Saturday, Tuesday/Wednesday and Sunday. However, the Premier League is understood to have held its own, prioritizing the first game of the original calendar.
City were due to play Palace on the weekend of April 4th before reaching the FA Cup quarter-finals. As a result of the Eagles’ advance to Europe, the game was left undecided for several weeks.
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That is until today, with the Premier League expected to announce kick-off times for the remaining games today. City are scheduled to travel to Bournemouth on Tuesday, May 19th at 7.30pm.
The game could have been played on Wednesday night, the same day as the Europa League final involving either Aston Villa or Nottingham Forest. However, UEFA did not approve of the opponents’ matchup.
It is also understood that fellow FA Cup finalists Chelsea are scheduled to face Tottenham on Tuesday night with a kick-off at 8.15pm. Meanwhile, Arsenal are scheduled to play Burnley in their final home game of the season on Monday 18th May at 8pm.
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Manchester City will face Bournemouth after the FA Cup final (Image: Visionhaus/Getty Images)
Given the number of matches, Guardiola urged his players to make the most of their time off. “We have eight days left before we go to Liverpool to play Everton,” City manager said after Saturday’s 2-1 win against Southampton.
“They can do whatever they want. They’re completely free to go wherever they want. As long as they come back for training on Wednesday afternoon.”
“What I learned in this country is that the more rest you have, the better your team will play. Coaches believe that the more you train, the better you play, but I am quite the opposite.
“Of course you have to train, but you have to be fresh at the moment of the match. I learned that. I trained a lot in the beginning, but now I’m home and having quality time.”
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