‘Tension’ in Premier League title race as Man City and Arsenal await rearranged fixtures

The Premier League has received pushback in discussions about the rescheduling of two Manchester City fixtures that could prove pivotal to a number of key positions in the table, and the title race with Arsenal . City’s pursuit of a domestic Treble has also created a fixture headache. After beating Arsenal to the Carabao Cup, Pep Guardiola ’s side have once again progressed to the FA Cup final - setting up a clash with Chelsea on Saturday 16 May.

But it now means that City have not one, but two Premier League fixtures that still need to be rearranged - and with just a few weeks of the season remaining. City’s trip to Bournemouth, which fell on FA Cup final weekend, will need to be moved, while the home match against Palace has been without a date for months. It is up to the Premier League to decide where to schedule both games, and it is a huge decision given how close the title is as City and Arsenal enter the final straight.

City could be left with a fixture pile-up that includes four games in 12 days. Man City’s remaining fixtures Manchester City have six games left this season, five in the Premier League, plus the FA Cup final. Pep Guardiola’s side currently have a game in hand on leaders Arsenal, due to their progress to both the Carabao Cup and FA Cup finals this season.

After City reached the FA Cup semi-finals, where they defeated Southampton on Saturday, their trip to Burnley was rearranged for Wednesday 22 April. The precedent in the Premier League, however, has generally been for postponed games to be played in the order they were originally scheduled, where possible. That would in this case mean the Palace game happens on Wednesday 13 May and the Bournemouth game on Tuesday 19 May .