Man City fixtures: Dates confirmed for Premier League games against Crystal Palace and Bournemouth

The dates for Manchester City’s Premier League fixtures against Crystal Palace and Bournemouth have now been confirmed.

The Citizens were initially due to face the Eagles at the Etihad Stadium at the end of March, but that match had to be rearranged after Pep Guardiola’s side advanced to the EFL Cup final, which they won at Wembley.

A similar scenarios has transpired this month, as Man City’s progression to the FA Cup final on May 16 has resulted in their top-flight trip to Bournemouth being moved from its original May 17 date.

Man City, along with Crystal Palace and Bournemouth, were in discussions with the Premier League over proposed dates for their fixtures, with the Citizens said to have been keen to explore alternative options to the initial proposals.

It is understood that one proposed scenario would have seen Bournemouth vs. Man City played on May 12 and Man City vs. Crystal Palace to take place on May 19, allowing Guardiola’s side to have an extra day of rest following the FA Cup final – it would also allow them to play their final two league matches at home.

However, Man City’s requests were allegedly rejected and the club have reportedly been left 'frustrated' by the time it has taken to find an alternative date for the Palace game. 

It has now been confirmed that the Citizens will play host to Palace at 8pm on Wednesday, May 13, three days before the FA Cup final against Chelsea.

Palace’s involvement in the Conference League has been a complicating factor, and the possibility of playing the Premier League game against Man City last week was denied by the fact that the Eagles faced West Ham United on April 20.

After facing Palace, Man City will then have three days to prepare for their Premier League clash against Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium, which will take place at 7:30pm on Tuesday, May 19, five days before their final top-flight fixture of the season at home to Aston Villa.

While Crystal Palace sit 13th in the Premier League table and have progressed to the Conference League semi-finals, Bournemouth sit seventh in the top-flight standings and remain in contention to qualify for Europe for the first time in their history.

The latest update to Man City’s fixture schedule means that they will conclude their campaign with six games in the space of 20 days, with four of those matches to be played across just 11 days.

This 11-day test will begin after City travel to Everton next Monday, with Premier League games against Brentford, Crystal Palace and Bournemouth, as well as the FA Cup final, to be crammed in before they conclude their Premier League campaign at the Etihad against Aston Villa.

How do Arsenal's fixtures compare to Man City's in all competitions?

Man City are still in contention to win a domestic treble this season and these fixture changes will be of interest to Premier League title rivals Arsenal, who also have a busy schedule to navigate.

At the time of writing, the Gunners are preparing for the first leg of their Champions League semi-final away against Atletico Madrid on Tuesday night, and they will then play host to Fulham in the Premier League on Saturday evening before welcoming Atleti to the Emirates for the second leg of their European tie on May 5.

Arsenal are then scheduled to play against West Ham United, Burnley and Crystal Palace in their final three Premier League games, but they will also prepare for a Champions League final in Budapest on May 30 if they overcome Atletico over two legs.

Mikel Arteta’s side currently hold a three-point advantage over Man City at the top of the Premier League table and could increase their lead to six points with a win over Fulham, but the Citizens would then have two games in hand.

While Arsenal are bidding to win their first Premier League title in 22 years and their first ever European trophy, Man City are hoping to lift their seventh top-flight crown in 10 years under Guardiola and complete the domestic treble for the second time under the Catalan coach.