Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has said he is concerned about the state of the pitch at the Etihad Stadium.
Club ground staff did not have time to re-lay the pitch in the summer because of the shortened break between seasons due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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The winter weather in Manchester and a high volume of games — the Etihad has staged four games in the last 11 days — has led to the surface becoming difficult to play on and Guardiola admitted it is a problem for his team.
“They are working a lot and trying to find a solution but the grass is not good,” Guardiola told a news conference on Friday.
“All the players know how good the grass is but the weather is bad. In London against Arsenal, Anfield, Old Trafford, Budapest, the grass was better. Incredible like a carpet and here it’s not good. And we need it.”
City, who travel to Fulham on Saturday, do not play another Premier League game at the Etihad until April 10 when they face Leeds.
They have three remaining Premier League home games but could also face home ties in the Champions League.
Their scheduled home tie with Borussia Monchengladbach has been moved to Budapest because of coronavirus restrictions.
