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Manchester City’s appeal to the Premier League regarding a scheduling decision that could significantly affect the title race has been turned down.

The defending champions are aiming for their second domestic treble in seven years as the season heads into its final month.

Under Pep Guardiola’s guidance, City secured the Premier League, FA Cup, and Carabao Cup titles in the 2018/19 season. The former Barcelona boss is now looking to replicate that success this year.

After defeating Arsenal in last month’s Carabao Cup final, City sit three points behind the Gunners in the league with a game in hand. They are also set to face Chelsea in the FA Cup Final at Wembley on May 16.

Due to City’s continued involvement in domestic cup competitions, their Premier League fixtures against Crystal Palace and Bournemouth have been postponed. The home clash with Palace, originally set for the weekend of the Carabao Cup final on March 22, and the away game at Bournemouth, initially due 24 hours after the FA Cup Final, both required rescheduling.

The Palace fixture has yet to be rearranged because of the Eagles’ progress to the Conference League semi-finals, which limits their available midweek slots. The match had been provisionally pencilled in for Wednesday, May 13.

However, after City qualified for the FA Cup Final and their trip to Bournemouth was postponed, the club requested permission from the Premier League to switch the order of the two fixtures. City proposed playing Bournemouth on Tuesday, May 12, and hosting Palace a week later, to gain an additional recovery day before the Wembley final. This plan would also have meant Guardiola’s team finishing their last two league games of the campaign at home.

Typically, Premier League policy dictates that when multiple fixtures are rearranged, the one that was originally scheduled first—in this case, the Palace match—should be played before the others.

According to a report from The Mirror, the Premier League has rejected City’s request to change the sequence of their games against Bournemouth and Palace.

As a result, Guardiola’s men now face a demanding schedule, playing four matches in just 12 days: Palace at home on May 13, the FA Cup Final against Chelsea on May 16, Bournemouth away on Tuesday, May 19, and finally Aston Villa at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday, May 24.

The Bournemouth fixture cannot be held on Wednesday, May 20, since that date coincides with the Europa League final, featuring either Aston Villa or Nottingham Forest. UEFA requested that no Premier League matches be played on the same night as a European final involving an English team.

The Mirror also reported that the Premier League will confirm the revised dates and kick-off times for the postponed fixtures today. Chelsea’s rescheduled league meeting with Tottenham Hotspur has also been moved to May 19, due to their involvement in the FA Cup Final.

Before entering their congested run-in, City will travel to Everton next Monday and host Brentford on Saturday, May 9. Their packed schedule will then begin with the Palace encounter.

Arsenal, who remain City’s closest title challengers, will be hoping to take advantage of their rivals’ fixture congestion. However, the Gunners themselves face a challenging fortnight, with a Champions League semi-final tie against Atletico Madrid spread across the next two midweeks.

Mikel Arteta’s side will conclude their league campaign with home games against Fulham and Burnley, and away trips to West Ham United and Crystal Palace.