Manchester City manager Enzo Maresca has urged Manchester United to “adapt” to the congested fixture schedule ahead of Sunday’s Premier League Manchester derby.
City head into the clash with a two-day rest advantage after defeating Porto 2-0 in the Champions League on Tuesday, while United recorded a 4-0 win over Sabah on Thursday.
With Michael Carrick’s side having less time to recover and prepare, Maresca insisted that such scheduling challenges are simply part of football.
“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 told BBC Sport on Friday.
“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.”
Maresca recalled a similar situation involving City last September before their meeting with Arsenal. Arsenal had played Athletic Club in the early kick-off on Tuesday before City faced Napoli at 20:00 BST on Thursday.
Former City boss Pep Guardiola joked at the time that he would take his players “hiking in the mountains” as they prepared for the demanding fixture.
With the expanded Champions League adding more matches before the end of January, alongside English clubs’ involvement in the Carabao Cup, Maresca acknowledged the strain created by the packed calendar.
“I think that happens and you need to adapt,” he said when asked whether the fixture schedule would eventually even itself out.
“It happened last year with us, this season with them, next season it will happen with a different team.”
Asked about Carrick’s possible reaction to United’s disadvantage, Maresca said: “That’s a question for Michael. The only thing I can say is it happened, and you need to adapt.”
Sunday’s derby will be Maresca’s first since taking charge of City, with the Italian enjoying a strong start to his tenure.
City have won all three of their Premier League matches this season, while United have picked up four points from their opening three games.
Despite recognising the significance of the derby, Maresca said City would remain focused on playing according to their identity.
“It is very important for different reasons,” he said. “We know how important a derby is, especially here. It is a special game.
“The most important thing we can do is try to be ourselves, and then we see the final result.”
