Premier League statement is clear over Man City fixture problem

Manchester City face fixture uncertainty next month and the Premier League have outlined what they have been doing to address it

Pep Guardiola went out of his way to praise the Premier League recently, crediting them for giving Newcastle more time to prepare for their game with City on the back of their trip to Azerbaijan in the Champions League. It was a rare backing from the Manchester City manager given his grumblings on the schedule and the referees, and he was also clear in his hope that the league can be more accommodating in future.

Whether that is the case remains to be seen - the Newcastle switch was down to a rule introduced in the last few years rather than an exceptional case - but the Premier League have now gone out of their way to show themselves trying to help with the 'inconvenience' City fans are facing. In just over two weeks, the Blues are playing at West Ham and they still have no idea what time the game is at.

As it stands, it will be a lunchtime fixture at half past twelve - but City are away in Europe in the days before and if, like Newcastle, that game is scheduled for the Wednesday than their match at the London Stadium will be moved to 8pm. The problem is that this will not become apparent until the last-16 draw on Friday and the subsequent release of the Champions League fixtures.

FOLLOW OUR MAN CITY FACEBOOK PAGE! Latest news and analysis via the MEN’s Manchester City Facebook page

In a message this week, the Premier League have stressed that they have tried to remove the uncertainty but that 'UEFA cannot guarantee' what day the City game is on. This is perhaps understandable as UEFA don't want to be seen to be arranging any element of the draw before it takes place, but it is still to the ultimate detriment of fans who can't make or may have to change plans to get up and down the country a few days later - as the league note.

"Unfortunately, UEFA has not been able to provide any guarantees on its scheduling ahead of the draw," a statement read. "As a result, the Premier League now faces the possibility of re-scheduling its fixtures at even shorter notice, at the inconvenience of supporters and clubs. The Premier League will continue its regular dialogue with UEFA over fixture scheduling."

It's rubbish when games are changed at short notice, albeit sometimes unavoidable. This is one of those examples and it has at least been signposted for a while but is still a choice made by broadcasters for which fans will suffer from.

And in this case, at least City can know that the league have been trying to sort it out for them even if they haven't had success. If that level of consideration carries through the rest of the season, Guardiola may have more words of praise.

Ensure our latest sport headlines always appear at the top of your Google Search by making us a Preferred Source. Click here to activate or add us as a Preferred Source in your Google search settings