Early season fixture congestion

The Football League have announced that City will enter this season’s Carling Cup in the second round of the competition.

The second round is scheduled to be played on either the 26th or 27th August, but as yet we are awaiting confirmation of when our Carling Cup tie will take place, due to City’s UEFA Cup second leg game away to FC Midtjylland in Denmark on Thursday, August 28th.

Eight clubs are allowed byes into the third round of the Carling Cup due to involvement in European competition. However, nine English clubs are playing in Europe, and Aston Villa’s higher league finish, rather than City’s entry via the Fair Play League, sees them miss round two of the Carling Cup.

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Given our expected progress from the UEFA Cup 2nd qualifying round following Friday's draw which saw us paired with Danish side FC Midtjylland, it will mean a congested start to the season given that we have not been handed a ticket straight into the Carling Cup 3rd round.

It will mean a tough start to the campaign, and something I'm sure Mark Hughes will look to counter by utilising the squad as much as possible to try and avoid potential burn out further in the season.

I'm sure it will also mean that Hughes will step up efforts to bring in additions to the squad (most notably in the midfield department) before the transfer window closes.