Sir Alex Ferguson has complained that Chelsea have a big advantage in tomorrow's title six-pointer because they have had an extra day's rest after the clubs' midweek Champions League games.
Chelsea faced Liverpool on Tuesday night while Manchester United travelled to Barcelona on Wednesday night for their semi-final, giving them under three days to recover before tomorrow's lunchtime fixture at Stamford Bridge.
"The fixture is not fair in terms of the timing between the two games," said Ferguson. "Chelsea have four days to get themselves ready ... There is no question that is a big advantage because, unfortunately, all we have are 60 hours. It is not fair but once you shake hands with the devil there is nothing you can do about it."
Ferguson's complaints are likely to meet with some sympathy from Avram Grant, who was furious at the scheduling of Chelsea's matches last week. The team played twice in what was initially a fixture-free week, with the Stamford Bridge outfit drawing at home with Wigan on Monday before salvaging their title dream with a win at Everton three days later after both games were rescheduled for television.
United abandoned their usual strategy of immediately returning to the north-west in favour of staying overnight in Catalonia this week, to help the players recover. They then flew to London on Thursday night before undergoing a light training session in the capital this morning as final preparation for tomorrow's game.
"Really, all we have been able to do is rest the players. Being in the sun and having a day relaxing is probably the best thing we could have done," said Ferguson.
