Chelsea v Manchester City: Pellegrini’s fears confirmed as FA Cup tie is switched to Sunday before Dynamo Kyiv trip
Manchester City’s FA Cup fifth round trip to Chelsea will take place on Sunday, February 21 – just three days before the Blues’ Champions League trip to Dynamo Kyiv.
City boss Manuel Pellegrini earlier revealed at his press conference that he would be forced to play a second-string side against Guus Hiddink’s side if the Football Association decided they could not play the game on the Saturday.
“If we play against Chelsea on Sunday it won’t be a normal team,” he said.
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“It will be a young team. I don’t see why we can’t play on Saturday. Logically it would be Saturday. I must do what I think is better for the club, which is Champions League.”
The tie, which will kick off at 4pm and be shown live on BBC One, had originally been scheduled for Saturday, February 20 but the BBC and the FA concluded that “conflicting fixtures and safety concerns” made it impossible.
It means that Pellegrini – who is hoping to steer his side to the quadruple in his final season at the club – and his players now face a gruelling schedule of a trips to Stamford Bridge and Kyiv’s Olympic Stadium before the Capital One Cup final all in the space of seven days.
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