Manchester City manager Enzo Maresca has called for teams to adapt to the fixture scheduling, citing the example of last season when City played Napoli and then faced Arsenal two days later. He told BBC Sport, "To be honest, the club mentioned to me that it happened exactly the same last year when the club played Napoli and then, after two days, played Arsenal." Maresca added, "Sometimes it happens in football. I don't have any doubt that Man United are going to be ready for that. It just matters to adapt."
Manchester City have two days extra rest over rivals Manchester United before their Premier League derby. City won 2-0 at Porto in the Champions League on Tuesday evening. In contrast, United thrashed Sabah 4-0 a full 48 hours later. The expanded Champions League means teams now play two extra games in the group phase before the end of January.
Maresca takes charge of his first Manchester derby and has started the season with City in superb fashion, winning all three league games so far. City host Norwich in the third round of the Carabao Cup next Thursday, while United play Brighton at Old Trafford the day before.