Manchester City’s nightmare fixture pile-up continues with their Premier League fixture against Arsenal to be played next Wednesday at 7.30pm.
City are already facing a hectic run of fixtures between now and the end of the season, with more to be added should they progress in various competitions as Pep Guardiola’s men continue to fight on all three remaining fronts.
The Arsenal game was originally supposed to take place on Sunday, but City made the Carabao Cup final, which they won 2-1 against Aston Villa.
City are well-placed to progress in the Champions League, with a 2-1 lead over Real Madrid after the first leg at the Bernabeu, and if they make the semi-finals, they only have three weeks available for midweek games between March 9 and May 11.
With the Arsenal fixture now set for March 11, that figure could be reduced to just one – if City also manage to make the semi-finals of the FA Cup.
It’s not the first time City have faced short notice for a Premier League fixture this season.
Their winter break was recently cut short to reschedule the West Ham fixture, which was postponed due to Storm Ciara.
Simon Jordan slams Pep Guardiola for suggesting a cup competition should be scrapped
Guardiola has been vocal in his opposition to the number of fixtures in the English football calendar and recently called for a cup competition to be scrapped.
He said: “It is unsustainable. We demand a lot from the players, it’s too much. We told them when we are with the Premier League. They should reflect [on] it but all the managers complained about it and they don’t care.
“Eliminate competitions, take them out. Less games, less competitions, less teams, more quality, less quantity.
“In the Bundesliga there are 18 teams not 20, one cup not two. In Spain, they have a break.
“The fans will go to the theatre, to the cinema, restaurants. People can live without football for a while – that is not a problem. It is too much.”
