Manchester City’s trip to the UAE to be part of the opening of Al Ain’s Hazza bin Zayed Stadium will not go ahead as a result of their draw with Blackburn Rovers yesterday.

City were due to travel to Al Ain to take on the Arabian Gulf League champions in a January 14 friendly to mark the opening of the new 25,000-seater stadium.

However, the third-round FA Cup draw means a replay with Blackburn will take place on January 15. A City official confirmed yesterday that the trip is off.

City already have a packed January that features both legs of a League Cup semi-final against West Ham United, as well as three Premier League matches and a potential FA Cup fourth-round tie.

Manuel Pellegrini, City’s manager, said of the fixture pile-up: “We were going to be travelling to Abu Dhabi and having a friendly match there, now we are going to play against Blackburn Rovers at home. What is better? It is impossible to know.”