CoventryLive brings you news from Coventry as the manager of Manchester City asserts that the FA Cup semi-finals will give the Sky Blues and their fierce rivals Manchester United an unfair advantage.
In the lead-up to their FA Cup semi-final matchup with their fierce rivals Manchester United, Pep Guardiola asserts that Coventry City will be “on their holidays,” while Man City has an exhausting schedule of games before hosting Chelsea at Wembley.
The manager has taken aim at the timing of his team’s semi-final and the March international break, but he is willing to concede that they are losing. Due to injuries sustained while playing for England, Kyle Walker and John Stones will not be available for today’s (Easter Sunday) crucial matchup with title rivals Arsenal, nor for any upcoming Premier League matches against Crystal Palace and Aston Villa.
City’s fourth match in ten days will be the first leg of their Champions League quarterfinal against Real Madrid. Guardiola is also annoyed that his team must play Chelsea in the FA Cup semifinal three days after the second leg at the Etihad Stadium.
When asked if there was anything wrong with the March international break schedule, Guardiola replied, “Yes, but they won’t rethink.” Both UEFA and the broadcasters are independent businesses.
“We play here on Wednesday against Madrid in the second leg. Manchester United, Chelsea, and Coventry have one week off. Why are we having a game on Saturday? Why don’t they extend the day for us?
“Chelsea, United, and Coventry don’t participate in the Champions League or Europa League. We play Saturday because the broadcasters pay a lot of money.
“Chelsea will not travel here; we will play them in London. Our journey will take five hours. We have played the second leg of the Champions League quarterfinals on Wednesdays and every Saturday since a number of years ago. Every single time.
“We’re fortunate to be playing at home [this time], but we’ve played in Dortmund, come here on Thursday afternoon, travel to London by train or plane on Friday, and play on Saturday against Chelsea, Liverpool, and all the amazing teams. We’re worn out.
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