Pep Guardiola said Manchester City have not trained ahead of the FA Cup final due to a compressed schedule [1, 2].
The lack of preparation highlights the physical toll of a congested May calendar on top-tier athletes. While opponents often have a full week to recover and strategize, Manchester City have been forced to prioritize recovery over tactical drills.
Guardiola said this on Friday, May 15, 2026, ahead of the final scheduled for Saturday, May 16, 2026 [1, 3]. The manager said that the team has not held a training session since their midweek fixture [3].
The team will face Chelsea at Wembley Stadium. Guardiola said there is a significant disparity in preparation time between the two finalists, as Chelsea had seven days [1, 2] to prepare for the match.
"I would have liked to have seven days to prepare, like Chelsea have," Guardiola said [1].
The manager said it is difficult to manage a squad through a packed schedule that leaves less than a week for final preparations [2, 4]. This timing puts the team in a position where physical freshness must be balanced against the need for tactical refinement, a challenge that has become more frequent in modern football calendars.
“"I would have liked to have seven days to prepare, like Chelsea have,"”
This situation underscores the growing tension between football's commercial expansion and player welfare. When a team cannot train before a major final, it suggests that the current scheduling of domestic and international competitions may be reaching a breaking point, potentially impacting the quality of the sport and increasing the risk of player injury.
