Pep Guardiola hits out at Premier League over fixture schedule – as Man City face crunch clash 72 hours after FA Cup final

Pep Guardiola used his pre-FA Cup final press conference to have a swipe at the Premier League for not moving Manchester City’s final home game of the season to help their Champions League bid.

City are looking to salvage their campaign over the next week, starting at Wembley in the FA Cup final against Crystal Palace before the final two matches in a bid to finish in the top five.

Guardiola wanted Tuesday’s game against Bournemouth at the Etihad Stadium moved to Wednesday – and believes it would be feasible given Spurs had their game at Aston Villa switched ahead of the Europa League final.

‘It will be tough,’ Guardiola said. ‘We have been nine years fighting against these situations, every single season and nothing goes.

‘We are going to play Tuesday night against the most intense, physical, direct and powerful team in the Premier League who are playing for European qualification.

‘So we have to deal with that. Manchester United and Tottenham play on Friday and when it is possible, this is what we should do. I prefer to play on Wednesday.’

The Man City boss wanted their clash with Bournemouth moved from Tuesday to Wednesday

Guardiola believes it should have been possible after Spurs match with Aston Villa was moved

Wednesday is the Europa League final between Spurs and United. Guardiola said City hadn’t formally asked to alter the schedule but suggested requests to do so after Champions League knockout games and before FA Cup semi-finals in past seasons had fallen on deaf ears.

City’s fans will bid farewell to Kevin De Bruyne on Tuesday and his manager insisted that there is no room for sentimentality around team selection ahead of Palace.

‘I play with him because I believe he can produce what he has so far,’ Guardiola added. ‘Against Crystal Palace in the league, we were 0-2 down and he produced the free kick. We cannot do it because we are generous, we need him.

‘We want to do it for him. He’s lifted 16 trophies in 10 years. Not bad I would say. One more would be good.’