Manchester City midfielder Bernardo Silva has questioned the fixture schedule immediately following the clash against Arsenal later this month.
The Premier League champions will be expected to play two games in three days, with the Carabao Cup tie versus Watford taking place on the Tuesday night after hosting the Gunners the previous Sunday evening. Silva told Record (quotes via TBR) that the situation is not acceptable:
“When the players complain, people say that players can’t complain about the life they have. And they’re right because we’re fulfilling a dream and we do what we do. On the other hand, the schedule is completely crazy.”
“We’ve just received the news that we only have one day off for the English League Cup game. We play Arsenal, we rest for a day and then we have the game against Watford. And if we don’t get knocked out of any other competition, we’ll play every three days for months. It’s been absolutely absurd.”
“In the Champions League, if you don’t qualify for the round of 16 you still have to play two more games. It’s true that the squads are bigger, but I’m not going to say that it’s easy. It hasn’t been easy. I spend very little time with my family and friends. The amount of games we’re subjected to is absolutely absurd.”
Silva is correct to say that City have been left in an absurd situation
These scheduling conflicts were inevitable when the expansion of European competitions was announced, but there are things that could have been done to avoid this situation.
Firstly, before the start of the season, it could have been anticipated that there would be issues with the Carabao Cup third round. The Premier League could have moved the Arsenal fixture back to Saturday night, but it wouldn’t then be played in the primetime slot that Sky would have wanted.
Secondly, some coordination between the EFL and UEFA could have helped. City’s home tie in the Carabao Cup was confirmed a few days before Manchester United’s Europa League dates were finalised. The reason why Guardiola’s men can’t play on the Wednesday against Watford is because it conflicts with United’s clash against FC Twente. If UEFA could have swapped that date, it would have helped City avoid this fixture pile-up.
