BEIJING -- Manchester City sent a groundsman to the Bird's Nest Stadium in Beijing 10 days ago to try ensure their preseason derby with Manchester United goes ahead, a club source has told ESPN FC.
Concerns were raised about the state of the pitch following a deluge of rain in the Chinese capital. City responded by sending over deputy head groundsman Craig Knight to help local ground staff repair the pitch after large areas were hit by fungus, which made it virtually unplayable.
The Manchester Evening News reports that senior figures at the club are "bemused" that United did not do the same to save the high-profile fixture.
Despite Knight's efforts, there are still worries that the game could be cancelled with the pitch set to take another soaking with more thunderstorms forecast before the kick-off on Monday night.
Both teams were due to train on the pitch at the stadium on Sunday but had to switch their training sessions to the nearby Olympic Sports Centre instead.
City boss Pep Guardiola and United manager Jose Mourinho share concerns about the pitch and are worried about their players picking up injuries.
"We didn't see the pitch but there is a lot of water in the last days so we understand it's not in a good condition but OK we're going to adapt and adjust," Guardiola told a news conference.
"It's our second game of preparation -- the most important thing is that the players are not going to be injured."
His comments were echoed by Mourinho, who said: "I think Beijing is unlucky because the pitch is very bad. I hope our players and City's players can go home without injury."
A decision to switch training from the Bird's Nest Stadium caused problems for the prematch briefing, with Guardiola handed a towel to wipe his face as he answered questions in a sweltering conference room.
Mourinho held his prematch news conference on the side of the stadium pitch because of the temperature and cramped conditions of the press room.