Manuel Pellegrini threatens to field weakened side against Chelsea in FA Cup

City are planning to travel to Ukraine the following day ahead of the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie against Dynamo Kiev on February 24. That in turn comes just four days before the League Cup final against Liverpool at Wembley.

Pellegrini is concerned about the effects of travel and fatigue in such a critical week and wanted the Stamford Bridge tie to be played on Saturday 20.

It was later announced that game would be played at four o'clock on the Sunday - a switch that has prompted an official written complaint from Manchester City to the FA.

The matter was complicated, however, because Chelsea's neighbours Fulham play in the Championship at 3pm on the Saturday and police were apparently unwilling to sanction another kick-off close to that time.

The match is also likely to be selected for television coverage and a Sunday slot might be favoured. Playing on Friday 19 is another possibility but that might run the risk of complaints from Chelsea, who play in the Champions League themselves at Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday 16.

Pellegrini said: "I'm very worried for a lot of things. First and foremost, if we have to play that game on that Sunday, we will not play with our (full-strength) team, we will play with a young team.

"We have to travel to Ukraine on Monday, so I don't see any reason why we can't play on the Saturday. Chelsea play their Champions League game on the Tuesday before.

"So if we have to play on the Sunday, we will have to see which players will have to play.

"I don't want to analyse why, but I think if we have to play against Chelsea four days before, we should play on the Saturday."

In his three seasons at City, Pellegrini has usually fielded strong teams in the domestic knockout cups.

But with City still alive in four competitions this term, Pellegrini feels he will have to prioritise and the FA Cup is evidently last on his list.

He said: "If we play on the Sunday, we have to put Manchester City's interests first. For me, I must do what I feel is best for the club, to play with the strongest team we can in the Champions League.

"Also, if we continue in the FA Cup, we will have to postpone two Premier League games (later in the season), and there is no option to play those games in midweek."

As unpalatable as it may be to some, at the beginning of the season the FA Cup is a distant third priority to elite clubs. Realistically, City can win the league and still have a decent shot at Champions League glory, too. It is Pellegrini’s job to ensure that his side are best placed to attempt to fulfil those aims. The fact that they are in the League Cup final has hoisted that ahead of the FA Cup in City's list of priorities.

Pellegrini was also trying to be cute here. By stating that he would play a weakened team were the match to be scheduled in on a Sunday he had applied a modicum of pressure to the FA. He has more or less said, schedule us on a day that is more suitable to us and we will afford the FA Cup the respect it deserves. Yet, the combination of TV scheduling and that fact that Fulham were already playing in West London on the Saturday ultimately meant that the game was always destined for a Sunday slot.

It will be interesting to see if Pellegrini follows through on his threat.