Is the Premier League finally catching up with the rest of the world?
Both Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur will play earlier than initially scheduled on the weekend of the 4th-6th May after the Premier League brought their matches forward to give both teams more rest ahead of the second legs of their respective Champions League semi-finals.
Liverpool were due to play Newcastle on Sunday 5th May but will now play on Saturday 4th, while Tottenham’s Monday night match against Bournemouth will also take place on the Saturday.
Manchester City, who Spurs knocked out in a dramatic quarter-final last Wednesday, will now play on Monday night against Leicester, instead of Saturday 4th.
This move comes after the Eredivisie cancelled an entire weekend of fixtures ahead of Ajax’s first leg tie against Spurs in order to give the Dutch side a better chance of progressing to the final while still maintaining the integrity of their domestic title race.
However, while this may seem like a progressive move from the Premier League et al. it’s worth noting that they had very little choice but to move the fixtures. Playing two matches in the space of three days – as both teams would have had to – is not feasible, and thus the Premier League had no option but to rejig the schedule.
Chelsea and Arsenal have also had their matches that weekend moved to the Sunday after the London sides made it through to the Europa League semi-finals where they will play Eintracht Frankfurt and Valencia respectively.
Maurizio Sarri’s side will now host Watford on Sunday, May 5th, followed by the Gunners’ home game against Brighton and Hove Albion.
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