As Manchester City prepares to face Real Madrid in less than a week, Pep Guardiola finds himself unexpectedly pleased with the scheduling of their upcoming matches.
Guardiola had already expressed concerns about City’s challenging fixture list, which includes tough opponents like Chelsea, Arsenal, Newcastle, Liverpool, Tottenham, and Nottingham Forest between late January and early March. With Real Madrid also on the horizon, Guardiola acknowledged the difficulty of this stretch.
“It’s tough playing against Real or Bayern, and the problem is facing Newcastle in the middle of it all. They have always been kind in the calendar for many years,” he said last week.
“The broadcasters make these decisions without consulting me about whether it’s better to play on Tuesday or Wednesday. In other leagues like Portugal and France, they play on Fridays. We played on Sunday before heading to Paris and lost 4-2; I didn’t complain about that. It is what it is.”
In a rare twist of fate, City will enjoy more rest ahead of their Champions League play-off compared to Real Madrid. While City plays against League One side Leyton Orient at 12:15 PM on Saturday, Real Madrid will host Atletico Madrid in a crucial top-of-the-table clash later that evening. Real Madrid’s players are reportedly feeling fatigued due to their demanding schedule this season.
A report from Spanish newspaper AS noted that the team has been frustrated with late kickoff times for away games, often returning home in the early hours after matches.
“We are fed up with the fact that every time we play away from Madrid, we don’t get home until 3 AM… if we’re lucky. And the next day, we have to train! It’s already difficult to rest with so many games; imagine with these schedules,” a source shared.
The upcoming match in Manchester will mark the 17th out of 20 away games for Real that has started late in the evening.
This challenging schedule follows an intense derby against Atletico Madrid, which could give City a slight edge going into their Champions League encounter—an advantage they are not accustomed to having.As both teams gear up for this high-stakes clash, City hopes to capitalize on this rare scheduling benefit while navigating a tough series of fixtures that could define their season.