Wed, 29 Apr, 2026 - 13:20

A closer look at the fixture congestion faced by Man City in May

City feel their bid to complete a domestic treble has been hampered by the rearranging of games against Crystal Palace and Bournemouth.

By Andy Hampson, Press Association

Manchester City are understood to be frustrated by fixture congestion in the concluding weeks of the season following the rescheduling of two Premier League games.

Here, the Press Association analyses the situation.

What they face

May 4: PL, Everton (a)
May 9: PL, Brentford (h)
May 13: PL, Crystal Palace (h)
May 16: FAC, Chelsea (n)
May 19: PL, Bournemouth (a)
May 24: PL, Aston Villa (h)

City feel their bid to complete a domestic treble has been hampered by the rearranging of games against Crystal Palace and Bournemouth either side of the FA Cup final next month.

The revised schedule means they will play three times in seven days from May 13th-19th, before their season concludes at home to Aston Villa on May 24th.

While the changes were necessitated by City’s progress in both domestic cups, and complicated by Palace’s involvement in the Europa Conference League, the club believe alternative dates were available.

How title race rivals compare

April 29: CL, Atletico Madrid (a)
May 2: PL, Fulham (h)
May 5: CL, Atletico Madrid (h)
May 10: PL, West Ham (a)
May 18: PL, Burnley (h)
May 24: PL, Crystal Palace (a)

By contrast, title rivals Arsenal – who hold a three-point lead at the top of the table having played a game more – face a lighter run-in.

While City must play four times after the weekend of May 9th-10th, the Gunners are presently scheduled to play just two matches – at home to Burnley on May 18th and at Palace on May 24th.

That could change if they reach the Champions League final on May 30th though, and Arsenal could point out they have their own congested spell, playing three games in seven days from April 29th-May 5th while City have an eight-day break.

How it compares to previous years

Manchester City’s Nico Gonzalez (second right) celebrates scoring the winner against Southampton in the FA Cup semi-final — City booked their place in the FA Cup final with victory over Southampton last weekend (Adam Davy/PA)

Fixture congestion is nothing new, but the build-up to the FA Cup final is notably tighter than in previous seasons. City will have just two clear days to prepare for their Wembley meeting with Chelsea on May 16th.

When they completed the domestic treble in 2019, the final was the last game of the season and they had five clear days to prepare. The same gap applied in 2023 and 2024, and it stretched to six days last year.

Guardiola relying on deep squad

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola points while on the touchline — City manager Pep Guardiola expects to see his squad’s depth tested (Ben Whitley/PA)

Such demands are often viewed as the price of success, and City’s squad depth is expected to be tested.

Manager Pep Guardiola has already acknowledged he will need to rotate. He said: “I need the squad, we need the squad. We need all of them. We cannot play this amount of games – every three days, every three days – with the same players. It will not be possible.”