Manchester City have voiced frustration after being forced into a grueling run of four matches in 11 days next month, following the rescheduling of two crucial Premier League fixtures.
Pep Guardiola's side will host Crystal Palace on Wednesday, 13 May, then travel to Bournemouth on 19 May, with the FA Cup final against Chelsea sandwiched in between on 16 May. The Palace game was postponed from 22 March due to City's Carabao Cup final involvement, while the Bournemouth clash was pushed back because of a clash with the FA Cup final.
City argue that the Premier League knew about the need to rearrange the Palace fixture as far back as 4 February, when they beat Newcastle to reach the Carabao Cup final, yet took nearly three months to finalise the date. The club feel the principle of rescheduling games at the earliest opportunity has not been followed.
However, the Premier League says it waited until after the FA Cup semi-finals to give fans more certainty over the schedule. City had proposed three alternative dates in late April and early May, but those were not accepted.
Meanwhile, title rivals Arsenal also face a congested week: they travel to Atletico Madrid for their Champions League semi-final first leg on Wednesday, host Fulham on Saturday, then play the return leg next Tuesday.
City's remaining fixtures:
- 4 May: Everton (a)
- 9 May: Brentford (h)
- 13 May: Crystal Palace (h)
- 16 May: FA Cup final v Chelsea
- 19 May: Bournemouth (a)
- 24 May: Aston Villa (h)