THE Premier League’s case against Manchester City looks set to be concluded by the end of the season – after an apparent setback for the club.

City are understood to have argued that the timetable for the appeal process after they were found guilty of “more than 100” breaches of Prem rules should have been determined by the regulations in force when they were first charged, in February 2023.

While those regulations state any appeal hearing should take place “as soon as practicable”, that gives no explicit directions.

But League chiefs seem to have successfully argued that the latest version of the rulebook, agreed by clubs in June, should apply.

That includes a specific tightening of the rules and a clear timetable, with the hearing – held behind closed doors – now scheduled for next month.

And while it is now expected any “sanctions” hearing to determine punishment will be delayed until after the appeal result is confirmed, that would mean the ongoing process ended by the start of spring.

City have appealed after the three-member independent commission found the club guilty of the vast majority of financial rules breach offences alleged between 2009 and 2018.

While the full findings of the panel remain redacted, the commission judged City responsible for substantive rule breaches over contracts and payments, including booking £830m in “sham” sponsorship deals.

Prem rivals had pushed for the appeal stage to be conducted under the current rules, which mean the hearing must be concluded within 12 weeks of City serving notice of their intention to challenge the findings, which they did on October 1.

But those new regulations also state the appeal – in front of a separate three-member commission – should last a maximum of five days, with arguments heard in a single block.

The 84-day limit would have run out on December 24, a Thursday, so it is now believed the appeal will run from December 14-18.

Under the new regulations, a decision to uphold or reject the appeal should take just 30 days, which would be before the end of January.

Arguments over the sanction – with Prem lawyers expected to demand an unprecedented punishment likely to result in relegation and potentially points deductions over several seasons – would then be heard.

City have consistently and vehemently protested their innocence and chief executive Ferran Sorianco branded the commission verdict “an opinion that supports the Premier League’s conspiracy theory”.

Following any sanctions decision, they would be entitled to appeal against the punishment but that would cover just a few weeks.

City still could opt to demand an Arbitration hearing or try to persuade the High Court to hear arguments that the Prem processes are invalid, delaying the final outcome further.

But there are no guarantees that the High Court would accept jurisdiction, with a previous Judge having dismissed City’s arguments that the Prem did not have the right to issue charges and that an initial arbitration panel was biased against them.