MANCHESTER CITY’S REQUEST TO RESCHEDULE PIVOTAL PREMIER LEAGUE TIES BRUTALLY DENIED
The Premier League has rejected Man City’s plea to swap Palace and Bournemouth matches. See City's brutal end-of-season schedule.
Manchester City are on the hunt for another domestic treble just seven years after the last one. Pep Guardiola pulled it off in 2018/19 with wins in the Premier League, FA Cup, and Carabao Cup. Now he's got his sights set on doing it again.
City’s deep run in the cups has created a mess for their league schedule. Their home game against Crystal Palace, which was supposed to happen during the Carabao Cup final weekend on March 22, got bumped. Same thing with their trip to Bournemouth, originally set for the day after the FA Cup final.
There’s a hold-up with rescheduling Palace; the Eagles’ Conference League semi-final run means they’ve got barely any free midweek dates. The match was pencilled in for Wednesday, May 13, but things got complicated when City reached the FA Cup Final, and Bournemouth got postponed too. The city asked the Premier League if they could play Bournemouth on Tuesday, May 12, then face Palace a week later, to squeeze in an extra recovery day before the Wembley showdown. Plus, that would give them the bonus of finishing their last two league games at home. But the Premier League usually insists that the fixture that was originally scheduled first in this case, Palace, gets played first.
According to The Mirror, City’s request was shot down. So now Guardiola’s team has to cram their last four matches into just 12 days: Palace visits on May 13, then the FA Cup Final, Bournemouth away on May 19, and finally wrapping things up at home to Aston Villa on May 24.
They couldn't play Bournemouth on May 20 because that’s the Europa League final night, and UEFA didn’t want any Premier League games stealing the spotlight when Aston Villa or Nottingham Forest could be involved.
The Mirror says the revised fixture dates and kick-off times are coming out today. Chelsea, also FA Cup finalists, will play their rescheduled match against Tottenham on May 19.
City still has to travel to Everton next Monday and host Brentford on Saturday, May 9. Then comes their jam-packed finish, starting with Palace.
Meanwhile, title rivals Arsenal will be hoping City’s crowded schedule works in their favour. Though Arsenal has its own challenge, a Champions League semi-final against Atletico Madrid is spread across the next two midweeks.
Arsenal closes out its league campaign with home games against Fulham and Burnley and trips to West Ham and Palace.
PEP GUARDIOLA SLAMS WAYNE ROONEY FOR CRITICIZING MANCHESTER CITY’S "HEAVY" ARSENAL MATCH CELEBRATIONS
Pep Guardiola has fired back at Wayne Rooney over criticism of Man City's celebrations. Discover the latest on the Premier League race.
Pep Guardiola fired back at Wayne Rooney after Rooney claimed Man City celebrated a bit too wildly following their 2-1 win over Arsenal in the Premier League on Sunday.
That match meant a lot. Beating Arsenal put City right back in the title race, and now, heading into the final stretch, it’s all up for grabs again. If City beats Burnley on Wednesday in their game in hand, they'll leapfrog Arsenal to take the top spot; just three points separate the two now.
It was Rayan Cherki and Erling Haaland who delivered the goals for City, with Kai Havertz levelling for Arsenal in between. After the final whistle, City’s celebrations were full-on, and honestly, you could see why. If they had lost, the title would basically have been out of reach. Rooney, though, seemed unimpressed. On Match of the Day, he said, “If you’re an Arsenal player, you’re thinking, 'Hold on, we’re still leading.'" It was a heavy celebration; I was surprised by that.”
Guardiola didn’t mince his words in response. Ahead of the trip to Burnley, he said, “People can say whatever stupid things they want. The players celebrated like that because they know how good Arsenal are. If we didn’t win, the title race was over for us. We’re still in it. How do you not celebrate that? You have to. You respect your opponent, but you celebrate however you want. That game was a final for us, maybe not for them, but for us, it was make or break.”
Rooney added that he thinks the title race has a lot left in it. “This title race isn’t over. There’ll be more twists and turns before it’s finished. It’s going to be tight. The city has an extra game, but I still have Arsenal as slight favourites,” he said.
He’s been there before. When you’re gunning for the title, every match feels loaded. “You look at your run-in and think you’ll win this one, or that one, but it never plays out exactly like you expect,” Rooney admitted. “Between now and the end of the season, it’ll come down to whichever team handles the pressure best. That’s who’ll take the trophy.”
HOW RODRI’S GROIN INJURY IS IMPACTING MANCHESTER CITY’S HIGH-STAKES PREMIER LEAGUE TITLE CHASE.
Manchester City’s Rodri and Ruben Dias miss the trip to Burnley. Discover Pep Guardiola’s injury update and the Premier League title race.
Pep Guardiola has indicated that Rodri is unlikely to be available for Manchester City's upcoming trip to Burnley, but he tried to ease concerns that the midfielder’s groin injury might sideline him for a prolonged period during the crucial stage of the title race.
City faces a tough test on Wednesday in the Premier League when they visit Burnley, with Rodri expected to be absent and centre-back Ruben Dias still out of action.
Guardiola confirmed these setbacks as his team attempts to close the gap on league leaders Arsenal.
Rodri picked up the injury late in Sunday’s 2-1 win over Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium. The manager pointed out that it seems to be related to the groin.
Meanwhile, Dias hasn’t played since City’s Champions League round of 16 second leg defeat at home to Real Madrid last month.
Talking to the media on Tuesday, Guardiola gave an update: “I don’t think Rodri will be ready for tomorrow. We’ll see for the FA Cup semi-final against Southampton this weekend,” he said, adding, “Dias isn’t ready yet.”
These absences come at a pivotal moment in the Premier League title fight. Arsenal are leading with 70 points from 33 games, aiming for their first league crown since 2004. City trails by three points at 67 but has a crucial game in hand.
Although Arsenal have stumbled recently with four consecutive domestic losses across all competitions, City have regained some momentum since beating them in the Carabao Cup final last month.
Guardiola acknowledged how demanding their recent fixture schedule has been.
“It was a tough game on Sunday, both physically and emotionally. At the same time, we still have six games left. We understand exactly what’s at stake, whether we get the result or not,” he explained.
He also highlighted how challenging it is for both sides as the season reaches its climax.
“Neither team can afford to lose or drop points. It’s hard to bounce back, and our schedule is very demanding.”
Reflecting on the pursuit, Guardiola added, “For the team chasing, it’s more difficult both mentally and physically. After what happened against Arsenal, we have to go to Burnley and perform at the level required.”
