Man City plea to fall on deaf ears as Premier League stick to guns on fixture change

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Manchester City look set to play four games in 12 days to finish the season after the Premier League ignored their request for a kinder schedule. Pep Guardiola's side, who are neck-and-neck with Arsenal in the title race, recently made it through to the FA Cup final (Saturday, May 16), forcing their game away Bournemouth to be moved.

City were already pencilled in to host Crystal Palace on Wednesday, May 13, giving them less time to recover ahead of the final. Palace are unable to play on the Tuesday due to their Conference League commitments which meant that their fixture against Everton had be moved to Sunday, May 10 in the last set of fixture amendments.

Mirror Football reported that Etihad chiefs had asked the Premier League to change the order of their clashes with Palace and Bournemouth , hoping to play Tuesday, Saturday, Tuesday/Wednesday, Sunday to end the season. But it is understood the Premier League have stuck to their guns, prioritising the first fixture in the original calendar.

City were due to face Palace on the weekend of April 4 until they reached the FA Cup quarter-finals. As a result of the Eagles' progress in Europe, the fixture has been left TBC for weeks.

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That's until now, with the Premier League set to announce kick-off times for remaining fixtures today. City are set to be made to travel to Bournemouth on Tuesday, May 19 at 7:30pm.

The match could've been played on the Wednesday, the same evening as the Europa League final which will involve one of Aston Villa or Nottingham Forest . UEFA , however, weren't in favour of a fixture clash.

Also on the Tuesday night, it is understood fellow FA Cup finalists Chelsea have been scheduled to face Tottenham for an 8:15pm kick-off. Arsenal, meanwhile, are set to play Burnley in their final home game of the season at 8pm on Monday, May 18.

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Given their fixture pile-up, Guardiola has urged his his players to make the most of their time off. "We have eight days until we go to Liverpool to play against Everton," the City boss said after Saturday's 2-1 win against Southampton .

"They can do whatever they want. If they want to travel to wherever, they are completely free. As long as they arrive back on Wednesday afternoon for training.

"I've learned in this country, as much [sic] days off [as you have], the team plays better. Managers believe as much [as] you train, you play better, but I'm completely the opposite.

"You have to train, of course, but you also have to arrive fresh in the moment of the game. I've learned that. In the beginning I trained a lot, but now it's home and quality time."