Pep Guardiola rues Eurovision for messing up Man City's plans

City face Everton on Sunday afternoon just three days before they are set to take on Real Madrid in the second leg of their Champions League semi-final.

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Guardiola had hoped to play on Saturday to give his side an extra day's rest ahead of their titanic clash at the Etihad.

Meanwhile, UEFA wanted to move the second leg to Tuesday, with the first-leg being played on the Wednesday, meaning City would have to face Everton on Saturday.

But with Eurovision going ahead in the city of Liverpool on Saturday night, the city's authorities are already stretched thin.

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It ultimately meant the fixture could not be moved from Sunday.

When asked about the tight schedule, the Spaniard said: "I can't understand it but I'm not going to fight it anymore.

"I don't understand it but we have to adapt. The schedules, it is what it is. It's not frustrating it is what it is, how many times can I comment on that?"

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The City boss added: "I'm sure Premier League want to help teams, they don't want to make us uncomfortable.

"The problem is the schedule, this amount of competitions, this amount of games.

"I think we cannot play on Saturday because there is Eurovision and we do not enough bodies or the capability to handle so many people."

City are hoping to pull off a remarkable treble this season as they currently lead the Premier League by a point and have a game in hand.

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Their form in the league has been unstoppable, winning every game since a draw to Nottingham Forest in February.

And they have high hopes in the Champions League after a 1-1 draw against Real Madrid at the Bernabeu earlier this week.

It means they have a slender advantage going into the second leg at the Etihad, though Los Blancos are a wily side in Europe and can turn any match in an instant.

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City know that better than anyone, having conceded twice in injury-time last season to the Spanish giants to crash out of the Champions League.

And they also find themselves in the FA Cup final, where they will face rivals Manchester United.

It will be the first-ever Manchester final in the competition while Erik ten Hag's are aiming for their own double having already lifted the Carabao Cup.