Manchester City have complained to the Premier League ahead of playing two games in less than 48 hours this Christmas.
The champions face a 7.45pm evening kick-off away to Wolves on Friday then welcome Sheffield United to the Etihad on Sunday for an unconventional 6.00pm start, with just 46 hours and 15 minutes between the two.
After beating second-place Leicester on Saturday, Pep Guardiola joked that he had penned a thank-you note to the Premier League and that he would be sending his players “to the fridge” between games.
“I wrote a letter to the Premier League to say thank you and we are going to the fridge after Wolves to receive Sheffield,” the City manager said. “[Sunday 22nd] is a day off. We are training 23rd, 24th. 24th night off, 25th off. 26th training, 27th Nuno’s team.”
And though no formal letter of complaint is understood to have been sent, City have made verbal representations to the Premier League to register their unhappiness with this year’s fixture congestion.
City’s trip to Wolves is the only top-flight match on Friday, with every other club in action on Boxing Day. Scheduling of all games over the 26th and 27th has been influenced by Premier League broadcasting newcomers Amazon, who will show the full round of fixtures.
Wolves have slightly less recovery time than City, with 44 hours and 45 minutes between Friday’s game and a trip to Liverpool on Sunday. Leicester, Bournemouth and Newcastle also play twice in less than two days this week, with 45-and-a-half hours between games.
Sheffield United, City’s opponents on Sunday, have a 3.00pm kick-off on Boxing Day. Chris Wilder’s side will therefore have 75 hours between their two Christmas kick-offs, nearly 29 more than City.
In October, City’s chief operating officer Omar Berrada called on schedulers to strike a balance between the demands of broadcasters and player wellbeing.
“Premier League games are a huge physical demand, and it’s not ideal to be made to play twice in less than 48 hours because it doesn’t give the players time to properly recover,” he said.
“We obviously understand that the paying rights-holding broadcasters are an important consideration when it comes to scheduling, but we also need to make sure that we protect the players’ wellbeing, the sporting integrity of the league, and the quality of the product.
“We’ve had an open dialogue with the league to consider other options, but ultimately, we will have to comply with the kick off times and dates as they have been presented to us.”
