Man City fans will be fuming after Premier League announcement ahead of Man United clash

The Manchester derby has always been a powder keg of passion, where the line between brotherly rivalry and outright war blurs under the Etihad’s floodlights.

But as September 13, 2025, dawned with the September international break’s dust still settling, Manchester City fans woke to a Premier League announcement that felt like a sucker punch to the gut.

Just 24 hours before Pep Guardiola’s side hosts Ruben Amorim’s Manchester United in the 197th installment of this storied clash—set for a 4:30 p.m. kickoff on Sunday—the league confirmed fixture amendments for September’s slate of games.

Sky Sports had already selected the derby for live broadcast, a ritual that should thrill the faithful. Instead, it ignited a firestorm of fury, with Blues supporters venting their spleen across social media, accusing the Premier League of treating their fortress like a disposable slot machine.

The announcement, detailed on the Premier League’s official site, outlined revised schedules to accommodate television demands, shuffling matches like cards in a rigged deck. For City, it meant a ripple effect from earlier tweaks: Newcastle’s trip to Wolves bumped to Friday, August 29, to make way for Champions League compatibilities, but the real sting landed on the derby’s aftermath.

With City now facing a midweek Europa League qualifier—thanks to their summer signings like Rayan Cherki propelling them into uncharted territory—the league slotted their subsequent fixture against Bournemouth into a suffocating Tuesday night slot on September 23.

No regard for recovery, no deference to the derby’s emotional toll. “This is sabotage,” one fan raged on X, echoing a chorus of thousands. “We’re 13th after those Spurs and Brighton gut punches, fighting for our season, and they dump us with three days’ rest against a fresh Cherries side? PL hates City.”

Guardiola’s ninth season was meant to be a renaissance, not a rerun of frustration. The summer fire sale—De Bruyne to Napoli, Gundogan to Galatasaray, Walker to Burnley, Ederson to Fenerbahce—left a squad of raw talent like Gianluigi Donnarumma in goal and the mercurial Matheus Nunes in midfield, all orbiting Erling Haaland’s gravitational pull.

Yet early stumbles have the Blues desperate for derby redemption, especially with up to 13 players nursing knocks: Phil Foden’s ankle twinge, John Stones’ muscle niggle, and now Omar Marmoush’s knee from Egypt duty ruling him out.

United, ninth and licking wounds from a Grimsby cup upset, arrive cocky under Amorim, unbeaten in their last three against City, including that 2-1 heist here last December.

Bruno Fernandes’ wizardry could exploit City’s chaos, but fans dreamed of home-soil solace, not a broadcast bow that chains them to exhaustion.

The backlash is visceral, a tidal wave of memes and missives branding the Premier League “Sky’s lapdog.” Gary Neville, never one to miss a dig, chuckled on his podcast about “City getting a taste of United’s medicine,” while Jamie Carragher’s 3-1 City prediction suddenly felt like salt in the wound.

Supporter groups like City Matters, fresh off their ticket price protest victories, fired off a statement: “This short-notice scheduling mocks fan commitment and player welfare. We’re not pawns for ratings.” Hashtags like #PLFixTheFixtures and #BoycottSky trended, with one viral post quipping, “If this is how they treat the champions, imagine the rest.”

Guardiola, ever the alchemist, downplayed it in his Friday presser: “We focus on United, not calendars. But yes, it’s tough on everyone.” Yet his eyes betrayed the strain—Nunes’ simmering bench frustration bubbling over in training leaks, Haaland’s “revenge” growls masking deeper squad unrest.

In Manchester’s schizoid soul, where blue moons clash with red devils, this announcement isn’t just logistics; it’s a betrayal. City fans, already raw from a season of flux, see it as the league tipping scales toward the underdog neighbors, ensuring a derby drained of its denouement.

As kickoff nears, the Etihad will pulse with defiance, Donnarumma’s gloves gloved in grit, Cherki’s tricks laced with spite. Win or lose, this fury fuels the fire— a reminder that in football’s coliseum, the real gladiators are the ones in the stands, fuming for a fight worth the farce.