Extra rest gives Chelsea unfair advantage, says Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer believes that Chelsea have an unfair advantage over his Manchester United side in their upcoming FA Cup semi-final meeting, having been granted two extra days' rest prior to the match.
United meet Crystal Palace on Thursday evening in the Premier League, while Chelsea enjoyed a narrow 1-0 win over Norwich on Tuesday, giving them an extra 48 hours to prepare for Sunday's match at Wembley.
"There is a concern, obviously, that they [Chelsea] will have had 48 hours' more rest and recovery than us. It's not fair," the United manager said.
"We spoke about a fair scheduling going into this restart and, of course, it isn't. But I have to think about Thursday, winning that one [against Palace], focusing on that one, and then pick up the pieces.
"It's not going to be a problem and a concern for us, but 24 hours, 48 hours is a big difference at this time [of the season] so we've not been handed four aces, to put it that way, for the last two weeks.
"But we're going to have to put on a poker face and play the cards well. The next two weeks will be hectic but we're very fit - our lads have not felt as fit as this for years."
Arsenal and Manchester City meet in the other FA Cup semi-final, which takes place on Saturday. Both teams played their most recent Premier League games on Wednesday.
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