Manchester City were scheduled to take on Brentford in the Premier League this weekend, but the match has been postponed.
This is because City are currently in Saudi Arabia competing in the Fifa Club World Cup, having won the Champions League last season.
City manager Pep Guardiola spoke out about fixture congestion ahead of City’s Club World Cup debut – especially given Fifa’s plans to expand it to a 32-team tournament from 2025.
Guardiola insists he is not against the new event in principle – and City are already guaranteed a place – but he feels something has to give somewhere to ease the workload on players.
“I am not against the new competitions. I am against the lack of time to recover from year to year,” he said.
“For me it doesn’t matter to play every three days, six days, seven days. It is OK.
“But it is really tough to finish the season and then in three weeks restart again and go to Asia, to be financially stable, or the States. That is really, really tough, for ourselves and especially for the players. For myself, things should change. This is my point.”
When will Man City vs Brentford take place?
A new date for City vs Brentford is yet to be announced.
Much will depend on City’s ongoing participation in the Champions League, as well as both sides’ FA Cup runs, as to where the fixture can be squeezed in.
When are Man City playing in the Club World Cup?
City begin their Club World Cup campaign in the semi-finals, as they take on Japanese side Urawa Reds on Tuesday 19 December.
The game kicks off from King Abdullah Sport City at 6pm GMT.
If City win they will face either Fluminense in the final on Friday 22 December, after the Brazilian side beat Egypt’s Al Ahly in the other semi.
How can I watch the Club World Cup?
The Club World Cup is being shown on TNT Sports in the UK.
City’s semi-final against Urawa Reds is being shown on TNT Sports 2. Subscribers can also stream the game live on Discovery+.