'They made a good decision!' - Pep Guardiola rages at Premier League as Man City face crucial game against Bournemouth just three days after FA Cup final with Champions League qualification on the line

Guardiola believes the match at home to Bournemouth, which will have huge ramifications for his side's bid to finish in the Premier League's top five and qualify for next season's Champions League, should have been rescheduled for Wednesday rather than Tuesday to give his side more time to recover from Saturday's FA Cup final against Crystal Palace.

City were due to play Bournemouth on Saturday but the game had to be moved due to their participation in the cup final. Guardiola contrasted City being given such a short turnaround time between their games with Tottenham's match at Aston Villa being moved to this Friday to give Spurs more time to prepare for the Europa League final against Manchester United.

Guardiola told a press conference: "Tottenham play against Villa on Friday [because of] the Europa League final. Good decision, [I'm not being] ironic or sarcastic. The Premier League made a good decision. We play all the time quarter-finals, semi finals, Wednesday away and then play semi-finals on Saturday. This season we played [the semi-final against Nottingham Forest] on Sunday [when] we didn't need the extra day. People say broadcasters and more fans, I would prefer to play Wednesday definitely."

Guardiola believes City's concerns are never taken seriously by competition organisers. Last year he lashed out at Gary Lineker after the BBC ordered City to play their FA Cup semi-final against Chelsea three days after their Champions League quarter-final clash with Real Madrid - which went into extra-time - when they could have played a day later. He explained: "We have been nine years fighting against this situation every single season. We are going to play Tuesday night, against an intense, physical, powerful team, Bournemouth, who are playing for the Europa league and we have to deal with that."

City are in the FA Cup final for a third consecutive year and will be looking to make amends for losing to Manchester United in last year's showpiece. But they are likely to be concerned about their league position as they dropped down to sixth in the table after Chelsea beat United and Aston Villa beat Spurs on Friday to creep into the top five. The results mean City must beat Bournemouth and Fulham in their final match of the season to make sure they return to Europe's top competition.