Man City handed Carabao Cup fixture farce by Premier League and UEFA

Manchester City have been handed a fixture farce after their Carabao Cup game against Watford was confirmed for just two days after they take on Arsenal.

City will take on Watford at the Etihad on Tuesday, September 24, at 7.45pm, having played Arsenal at 4.30pm on Sunday 22 September. That will give the Blues no time to train between the games and less recovery than is considered acceptable for player welfare.

With a Premier League fixture the following weekend locked in for 12.30pm on the Saturday at Newcastle, Wednesday was the ideal date for the game. However, Manchester United are at home in the Europa League that night as part of UEFA's reworked competition; UEFA were unwilling to move that game and Greater Manchester Police would not host two home matches on the same night.

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Guardiola and City are not likely to be impressed by having their welfare put at risk because of the logistical decisions of the football authorities. The City boss slammed the schedule as unacceptable last season when they had less than three days between a Champions League quarter-final and FA Cup semi-final, and Bernardo Silva echoed his thoughts.

"Today I don't think it's acceptable we have to play," he said. "It's too much. Today was too much. We played 120 minutes less than three days ago. There's no excuse for the game to not be tomorrow [Sunday]. It's not acceptable. For all of us as a team that's how we feel."