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Man City set for fixture pile-up after West Ham game postponed

The rescheduled date will be announced in due course, but the postponement has left City facing potential fixture congestion

Mark Critchley
Northern Football Correspondent
Sunday 09 February 2020 15:40 GMT
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Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola

Manchester City face a hectic fixture pile-up after their Premier League meeting with West Ham was postponed.

Sunday's game at the Etihad was called off due to the effects of Storm Ciara, which caused high winds and heavy rain in the North West.

"Due to extreme and escalating weather conditions and in the interests of supporter and staff safety, today’s match has been postponed," a City statement read.

The rescheduled date will be announced in due course, but the postponement has left City facing potential fixture congestion.

City's league meeting with Arsenal, originally scheduled for 1 March, had already been postponed due to their involvement in the EFL Cup final.

The return of the Champions League and the timing of the FA Cup fifth round mean that City will play on midweeks and at weekends until 8 March.

If City progress to the Champions League semi-finals, they will only have three midweek slots available for rearranged fixtures.

The weeks commencing 9 March, 20 April and 11 May are all currently free on City's calendar, with spaces for a midweek game.

But if Guardiola's side reach the FA Cup semi-finals, two of those slots could be taken up by other rearranged league fixtures.

The fixture pile-up could affect Guardiola's hopes of winning a first Champions League title with City in his fourth year at the club.

City's defence of their Premier League crown is effectively over after league leaders Liverpool opened up a 22-point gap on the champions.

Discussions will be held between City, West Ham and the Prmeier League over the coming days to decide on a rearranged date for Sunday's game.

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