Pep Guardiola has revealed that Manchester City turned down the chance to change the location and date of an upcoming Carabao Cup tie to help ease their fixture congestion.
The Premier League champions are gearing up for the first intense stretch of the new campaign as European commitments are added to domestic cup and league matches.
City are set to play four games in three different competitions over the next 11 games, starting with Saturday's home clash against Brentford. Next week, they have just one full day between clashes against Arsenal and Watford.