‘Adapt to fixture schedule’ — Maresca tells Man Utd

Manchester City manager Enzo Maresca has told Manchester United to “adapt” to the fixture schedule ahead of Sunday’s Manchester derby.

City have two extra days to recover and prepare for the derby after beating Porto 2-0 in the Champions League on Tuesday, while United thrashed Sabah 4-0 on Thursday.

Asked about the scheduling advantage, Maresca pointed to a similar situation City faced last season before their game against Arsenal.

“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 told the BBC.

The Italian added: “I think that happens and you need to adapt. It happened last year with us, this season with them, next season it will happen with a different team.”

Asked how United manager Michael Carrick might feel about having less recovery time, Maresca said: “That’s a question for Michael.

“The only thing I can say is it happened and you need to adapt.”

City faced a similar situation last September when they played Napoli in the Champions League on a Thursday before facing Arsenal two days later.

The expanded Champions League schedule has increased the fixture burden on clubs, with teams playing two additional group-phase matches before the end of January.

City will also face Norwich in the Carabao Cup next Thursday, while United play Brighton at Old Trafford the previous day.

Maresca will take charge of his first Manchester derby since replacing Pep Guardiola and has made a perfect start to his Premier League tenure, winning all three games.

United, meanwhile, have collected four points from their opening three league matches.

“It is very important for different reasons,” Maresca said of the derby.

“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.”