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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
Sport
Joe Bray

Man City Premier League title chances could be defined by Tottenham double-header

Among the many considerations of whether to postpone this weekend's Premier League fixtures will have been when to play the rearranged fixtures.

For all the arguments to play these fixtures or not following the death of Queen Elizabeth II, the decision was taken to postpone as a mark of respect. Manchester City will resume action in midweek in the Champions League, where they will be able to pay respects to the Queen, with a decision yet to be taken over next weekend's fixture at Wolves.

What we do know is that City's fixture with Tottenham has been postponed, and due to both sides' involvement in Europe, the game now won't be played until the new year.

ALSO READ: Man City get Champions League boost after being denied golden opportunity

In fact, if one or both sides progress to the Carabao Cup semi-finals and the Champions League knockout stages, there will only be one guaranteed available midweek to play the rearranged game before April.

When the Premier League resumes after the World Cup, the Christmas schedule and FA Cup take priority for three weeks, before the first potential slot for the game to be played - the week of January 16. However, the Carabao Cup fourth round is scheduled for the week of December 19, with the World Cup final taking pace on December 18.

Both sides would expect to have players involved in the latter stages of the World Cup, so may look to push any Carabao Cup fixture back to those midweeks in January - which would have a knock-on effect on the fifth round in the week of January 9.

So the next guaranteed midweek, if the clubs want to get something pencilled in ahead of the World Cup, is that of February 6 - a slot that directly follows City's trip to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. That would set up a tantalising double-header against a very tricky opponent, although a potential FA Cup fourth-round replay could take priority on that week.

If City and Spurs were to face each other home and away in the space of a matter of days, it would give the Premier League title race a completely different dynamic with two fixtures in quick succession that could build or kill any momentum at a crucial time.

Beyond February, there could be two midweeks when the Champions League last-16 ties get underway, with those fixtures being spread over four midweeks. For the game to be played then, it would require both City and Spurs to play on the same weeks, and for UEFA to agree to such a high-profile Premier League game to be played on the same night as a Champions League gameweek - something they are often reluctant to do.

Beyond that, the weeks of April 3, May 1 and May 22 are the only other guaranteed free weeks to play the game, with the significance to the title race increasing the closer the fixture is played before the end of the season. There could also be games rearranged for the Carabao Cup final, the FA Cup quarter-finals and the FA Cup semi-finals that currently have Premier League games scheduled on their respective weekends.

With so few slots available for the game to be played, there is every chance it could be played in that February 6 week, setting up a back-to-back clash with Spurs that would give City's title chances the ultimate test.

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