April 19, (THEWILL) – Manchester United has complained to the English Premier League about the viability of the top four race after delayed dates have left them with three major matches in nine days.
United will play Liverpool on Tuesday and Arsenal on Saturday, giving them only four days to prepare for their match against Chelsea, which has been moved to April 28 due to the Blues’ progress to the FA Cup final.
So far, United are three points behind Tottenham, who are fourth, and level with Arsenal. This tight schedule has left the Red Devils annoyed as they are no reason having so many big games so close together, especially when their final two games are still 15 whole days apart.
The Premier League has been approached by club officials who are questioning the integrity of bringing the Chelsea match forward to this time, implying that the other clubs vying for a place in the top four would not face anything as difficult.
“The fact that the Chelsea game was changed from the original fixture is something I didn’t think could happen,” interim boss Ralf Rangnick told MUTV of the decision.
“Normally in Germany, the last two games of the season have to be played on the very same day and with the same kick-off time. Obviously it’s different here.
“For us it’s not good because we have a number of injured players so it would have been better for the Chelsea game to be played two weeks later when it was originally planned. But anyway we have to deal with it and hopefully by then we have two or three of those injured players available again.”
Rangnick is already missing Fred, Scott McTominay, Raphael Varane, Edinson Cavani, and Luke Shaw for Tuesday’s match against Liverpool, and Cristiano Ronaldo’s participation is in doubt after the loss of his twin son on Monday evening.
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Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
