Tottenham could do Arsenal huge Premier League title favour as Man City match to be moved

Manchester City appear set to play Tottenham in the final week of the season as Pep Guardiola faces a fixture rescheduling nightmare.

The champions remain on course for another treble after beating Newcastle United in the FA Cup, which granted them safe passage into the semi-finals at Wembley in April. They were due to play in north London that weekend, but that clash now needs a new date.

Already their game with Brighton, which was due to be played at the weekend, needs a new slot, leaving Guardiola’s side with two midweek spots to find. There are a lack of slots available, owing to City’s Champions League involvement, and a semi-final in Europe could have major consequences.

There are currently four available midweek slots to play the fixtures with Tottenham and Brighton – but two could be taken up by the Champions League semi-finals if City get there. That would leave the week of April 22 and May 13. The Brighton game is likely to be rearranged first and Spurs would then have to take the May fixture – which is in the final week of the season.

City have a horror Premier League record at Tottenham under Guardiola having never won and never scored at their new stadium. They could also be in the midst of a title race that could still involve Arsenal and Liverpool. It means a scenario exists where a Tottenham win could hand the Gunners the title.

The Manchester outfit finally ended their hoodoo in north London earlier this season as they secured a dramatic FA Cup win. Guardiola’s outfit landed a 1-0 victory with Nathan Ake scoring a last-minute winner.

The Catalan joked last term that his biggest wish, after winning the treble, would be to see off Tottenham. “I want to beat the Spurs away!” he said. Guardiola first saw his team lose at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in 2019 in a Champions League quarter-final. Tottenham went on to beat City in four successive league matches under several different managers.

Guardiola admitted earlier this season that there is an excessive amount of games, which has been echoed by the likes of Kevin De Bruyne, but claimed it is on the players to take a stand if they want to lead change.

He said: “Only they – the players – can change something – not just in the Premier League, everywhere. I’ve said many times we have too many games. The problem is we have just three weeks’ holiday in the summer and it is impossible to regenerate. Just look at the number of injuries at all the teams. The only ones who can change it are the players – if they really decide – to make it a better sport.”