‘Tension’ in Premier League title race as Man City and Arsenal await rearranged fixtures | OneFootball

The Premier League has received pushback in discussions about the rescheduling of two Manchester City fixtures that could prove pivotal to a number of key positions in the table and the title race with Arsenal.

City’s pursuit of a domestic Treble has also created a fixture headache. After beating Arsenal to the Carabao Cup, Pep Guardiola’s side have once again progressed to the FA Cup final – setting up a clash with Chelsea on Saturday 16 May.

But it now means that City have not one, but two Premier League fixtures that still need to be rearranged – and with just a few weeks of the season remaining. City’s trip to Bournemouth, which fell on the FA Cup final weekend, will need to be moved, while the home match against Palace has been without a date for months.

It is up to the Premier League to decide where to schedule both games, and it is a huge decision given how close the title is as City and Arsenal enter the final straight. City could be left with a fixture pile-up that includes four games in 12 days.

Manchester City have six games left this season, five in the Premier League, plus the FA Cup final. Pep Guardiola’s side currently have a game in hand on leaders Arsenal, due to their progress to both the Carabao Cup and FA Cup finals this season. After City reached the FA Cup semi-finals, where they defeated Southampton on Saturday, their trip to Burnley was rearranged for Wednesday 22 April.

The precedent in the Premier League, however, has generally been for postponed games to be played in the order they were originally scheduled, where possible. That would in this case mean the Palace game happens on Wednesday 13 May and the Bournemouth game on Tuesday 19 May. The latter would be set for that date due to the Europa League final taking place on Wednesday 20 May, and Uefa disallowing domestic fixtures to be staged when their showpieces fixtures take place.

*TBC

Why Crystal Palace match comes first

Crystal Palace’s participation in the Europa Conference League has complicated rearranging their trip to Manchester City, which was originally scheduled to be played on the weekend of the FA Cup quarter-finals. Palace have reached the semi-finals in Europe and Oliver Glasner’s side will play Shakhtar Donetsk on Thursday 30 April and Thursday 7 May. If the Eagles progress, the final would be after the Premier League season finishes, on Wednesday 27 May, but it means City’s match against them has to be played either immediately after the Brentford match or immediately after the FA Cup final.

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Manchester City’s rearranged game against Crystal Palace has faced complications due to the London club’s European campaign (PA Wire)

The Premier League want the Crystal Palace match to be played before the Bournemouth game, as that was the order of their original calendar. But because the Eagles play their Premier League games following European commitments on a Sunday, that also rules out the prospect of playing on a Tuesday. Therefore, of the two free midweeks, Wednesday 13 May is the leading option, with the Bournemouth match rearranged for the following week, but not on the Wednesday due to the Europa League final. That will involve an English club in either Aston Villa or Nottingham Forest.

City had initially wanted the Crystal Palace match to be rescheduled for Wednesday 22 April, rather than the match against Burnley. It appears this was impossible because Crystal Palace were already scheduled to play West Ham on Monday 20 April, so could not play again that midweek.

‘Tension’ in discussions as Man City face fixture pile-up

The situation could nevertheless leave City playing three games in seven days before the potentially crucial final weekend of the season, with the testing trip to Bournemouth coming a mere three days after the FA Cup final. City have consequently been in dialogue with the Premier League to explore alternative options and swapping the order of the Palace and Bournemouth games, but it is understood that has led to pushback and some tension in discussions. Arsenal are also monitoring developments that could affect the title race.

Any movement could also have repercussions for other positions, as Bournemouth aim for a European place for the first time in their history. If their match against City were to be played on Tuesday 19 May, it would mean nine days’ rest for Andoni Iraola’s side, as they now have a free weekend around the FA Cup final, against a mere three for their opponents. That would also be Iraola’s final home match in charge of Bournemouth, in what is set to be an emotional occasion. Swapping the Bournemouth and Palace games would have allowed City to play on Tuesday 12 May, giving Guardiola’s side an extra day.

Sources with knowledge of the discussions say it has been pointed out that this is just the fairness of how it falls and it is a complication that clubs competing on multiple fronts have to face. City have naturally pointed to the unnecessary pile-up, when alternatives are possible.

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Arsenal are monitoring where Manchester City’s rearranged games will be played (AP)

This has led to pushback, principally over the idea that individual club situations should not be able to override precedent, given how other teams have faced similar in the past. Arsenal sources have pointed to how the 2023-24 title race saw City face a rescheduled away trip at Tottenham Hotspur as their penultimate game, when it could have come earlier, despite an expected media circus around Spurs fans not wanting Arsenal to win the title.

Given their own priorities, Bournemouth currently expect their game against City to be played on Tuesday 19 May, with a likely 7.30pm start. Arsenal are meanwhile set to face Burnley in their own last home game on the night before, a Monday, in a move that is already meeting pushback from fans. The fixtures are anticipated to be announced over the next 24 hours.

Arsenal’s potential run-in

While Arsenal have their Champions League semi-final against Atletico Madrid to negotiate over the next couple of weeks, Mikel Arteta’s side would be left with a much lighter schedule over the final stretch due to their quarter-final exit from the FA Cup. While City would be left with four games in 12 days to finish the season, Arsenal would have three in 14. That said, there is the potential of the Gunners having a Champions League final on the horizon on Saturday 30 May, should they get past Atletico.