Manchester City will return to action on Wednesday when they take on Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League.
Pep Guardiola's side will welcome the German outfit to the Etihad Stadium for their second match of the group stage, following a 4-0 win against Sevilla last week. City's first home Champions League match of the season comes about in unusual circumstances though; when the match kicks off they will not have played in over a week.
That's because all Premier League matches were postponed at the weekend following the death of Queen Elizabeth II. Following her passing on Thursday evening the Premier League announced that matches would not take place as a mark of respect.
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City were due to face Tottenham Hotspur at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday evening, but that fixture will now be rearranged and played at a later date.
That means that come 8pm on Wednesday evening City will not have played for eight days, an unexpected rest that, while good for those who have picked up knocks recently, is not great for building early season momentum.
City have enjoyed a better start to the season than they have in recent years, winning four of their opening six league fixtures and drawing the other two.
New signing Erling Haaland has made a blistering start to the season, scoring 12 goals in his first seven outings for City in all competitions. The likes of Bernardo Silva and Ilkay Gundogan have enjoyed superb starts the campaign while Kevin De Bruyne - while not up to top speed yet - has not endured a repeat of the early season struggles he experienced last season.
While Guardiola has in the past been critical of elite level football's packed fixture schedule, he is also a believer in the role momentum plays in football. An unexpected break in his side's match schedule is not ideal, but winning against Dortmund on Wednesday would ensure City regain momentum before a potentially tricky trip to Wolves at the weekend.
It will be important for City to win that game as once they return from the September international break they will face a tricky assignment at home against Manchester United.
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