How New Premier League Schedule Gives Arsenal, Chelsea Huge Boost Over Man City

The Premier League title race, relegation battle and FA Cup final have all been majorly impacted by a new fixture list.

Mikel Arteta (left) and Calum McFarlane (right) have an advantage over Pep Guardiola. | David Price/Arsenal FC/Alex Livesey-UEFA/UEFA/Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC/Getty Images

Pep Guardiola is a manager so wedded to tactical preparation that he once pulled a muscle in his back after watching too many hours of footage of an opponent at Bayern Munich—ahead of a preseason match.

Yet, even the arch-strategist has been forced to adjust his approach amid the flurry of fixtures facing Manchester City ahead of this season’s run-in. “It is game, good recover, game, recover,” Guardiola fretted after complicating the calendar even further with a trip to the FA Cup final. “No more than that.”

City’s conclusion to a campaign which can still end with a domestic treble has taken another twist. The Premier League have belatedly announced the dates and kickoff times of all remaining fixtures, handing Guardiola’s side a compact schedule which has left them “frustrated,” per BBC Sport.

Arsenal, City’s top-flight title rivals, and fellow FA Cup finalists Chelsea, have benefited from the reshuffling.

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Man City’s New Schedule: Four Games in 11 Days

Pep Guardiola has been dealt an unfavorable hand. | Jorge Horsted/News Images/NurPhoto/Getty Images

Date	Opponent	Venue
Monday, May 4	Everton	Hill Dickinson Stadium, Liverpool
Saturday, May 9	Brentford	Etihad Stadium, Manchester
Wednesday, May 13	Crystal Palace	Etihad Stadium, Manchester
Saturday, May 16	Chelsea (FA Cup final)	Wembley Stadium, London
Tuesday, May 19	Bournemouth	Vitality Stadium, Bournemouth
Sunday, May 24	Aston Villa	Etihad Stadium, Manchester

City’s scheduling issues revolved around the unresolved clash with Crystal Palace. The match was first postponed all the way back in February once they qualified for the Carabao Cup final and has not found a new home thanks to Palace’s run in the Conference League.

Guardiola’s side reportedly favored the prospect of facing Bournemouth in the midweek of May 13—ensuring that they would end the league campaign with consecutive home games—but the Premier League have instead saved that trip to the south coast for May 19, three days after the FA Cup final.

Andoni Iraola’s final home game as Bournemouth boss could prove to be an emotional setting for City’s penultimate league contest, when the Premier League title will almost certainly still be on the line.

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Arsenal’s New Schedule: London Calling

Martin Ødegaard is aiming to become the first Arsenal captain since Patrick Vieira to lift the Premier League trophy. | Alex Burstow/Arsenal FC/Getty Images

Date	Opponent	Venue
Wednesday, April 29	Atlético Madrid	Metropolitano, Madrid
Saturday, May 2	Fulham	Emirates Stadium, London
Tuesday, May 5	Atlético Madrid	Emirates Stadium, London
Sunday, May 10	West Ham	London Stadium, London
Monday, May 18	Burnley	Emirates Stadium, London
Sunday, May 24	Crystal Palace	Selhurst Park, London

Arsenal’s complication of the Champions League semifinals is effectively balanced by City’s league congestion. While Guardiola’s side have to navigate four games in 11 days, the Gunners’ first semifinal against Atlético Madrid starts a sequence of four games in 12 days.

Crucially, however, Mikel Arteta has ample time to prepare for the final three league games. There is a five-day break before a trip to relegation-battling West Ham United, with free weeks between meetings with Burnley and Crystal Palace.

What’s more, Arsenal don’t leave London in May (unless they make it to the Champions League final in Budapest, which is after the league season has concluded). While City are zig-zagging between Wembley, Manchester and Dorset, Arsenal can remain within the confines of the M25.

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Chelsea’s New Schedule: Plenty of Preparation Time

Chelsea earned a hard-fought victory over rivals Leeds United to set up an FA Cup final with Man City. | Chris Lee/Chelsea FC/Getty Images

Date	Opponent	Venue
Monday, May 4	Nottingham Forest	Stamford Bridge, London
Saturday, May 9	Liverpool	Anfield, Liverpool
Saturday, May 16	Man City (FA Cup final)	Wembley Stadium, London
Tuesday, May 19	Tottenham	Stamford Bridge, London
Sunday, May 24	Sunderland	Stadium of Light, Sunderland

Chelsea’s Champions League qualification aspirations may not be quite dead and buried just yet. Should Aston Villa slip into fifth place and win the Europa League, the team which finishes sixth in the Premier League would also get a spot at the continental top table.

Nevertheless, much of Calum McFarlane’s focus will surely be diverted towards the FA Cup final. Unlike City, who host Crystal Palace three days earlier, Chelsea have a full week to prepare for the trip to Wembley.

There is the new wrinkle of a midweek clash with Tottenham Hotspur added to the Blues’ calendar, although that may be more inviting than inconvenient. In a reimagining of the infamous “Battle of the Bridge”—the game which saw Chelsea hand Leicester City the Premier League title at the expense of Spurs—the west London club could play the role of spoilers in even more spectacular fashion, potentially sending Tottenham down to the Championship.

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