Barcelona’s recent schedule might stop Premier League teams from complaining about fixture congestion

Manchester City came in for some criticism after playing a youthful side in their FA Cup defeat to Chelsea, but many felt they had no choice in the matter.

Manuel Pellegrini's team have a tricky away trip to Kiev for the Champions League last 16 clash on Wednesday, followed by the small matter of the League Cup final on Sunday. Three games in a week is challenging at the best of times, but at this stage in the season some feel it's more than reasonable to rotate the squad to help the situation. After all, it's a near-unmanageable situation, right? Well, yes, unless you're Barcelona, as the Daily Mirror's Ed Malyon has explained. https://twitter.com/eaamalyon/status/701736359493509121 That's right, Barcelona's trip to Arsenal will be their 14th midweek outing from a possible 14 since the November international break. So, have Luis Enrique's side struggled amid all that congestion? Not quite. They're unbeaten in all competitions since October 3, with 24 wins and seven draws in that time period. Sure, they've got a certain attacking trio to help them out, but this is devastatingly impressive all the same.