Arsenal and Crystal Palace make request to Premier League amid fixture chaos

The Premier League is considering requests from Arsenal and Crystal Palace to move fixtures after the rearrangement of their Carabao Cup quarter-final clash in December

Arsenal and Crystal Palace have both issued a request to the Premier League in a bid to move one of their fixtures forward by a day in late December as clubs brace for a frenetic festive fixture period.

The London clubs are currently set to play two games in three days after the Eagles were successful in their bid to move their Carabao Cup tie with the Gunners from December 16 to December 23. That request was made due to Palace facing three games in five days as a result of their Uefa Conference League commitments, with the Londoners suggesting they were disadvantaged by having 24 hours fewer to prepare than the Gunners.

Arsenal opposed the request but are now, like their London rivals, scrambling to move another game; Mikel Arteta wants his team's game against Everton moved forward by 24 hours, from December 21. Palace hope to instigate the same change for their clash against Leeds in the Premier League.

"We are trying the same thing that Arsenal are trying, to move our Leeds game forward to Saturday [20 December], so we don't have two days between these games," Oliver Glasner revealed ahead of his Palace's match against AZ Alkmaar.

"We didn't get a response until now from the Premier League, just to have the same as Arsenal, if their game is moved."

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Arteta said aid the fixture list is nonsensical and hopes to see a change implemented. Speaking earlier this week, the Spaniard said: “Hopefully then they will move our Premier League match because to play on this date doesn’t make any sense, obviously.

"So we will now decide the date. I leave that to the club. I think we’re very clear what was the best thing, the most logical date to play.

“They bring a different date so I’m sure we’ll have to adapt to that. I’m sure we will apply the principles of first of all the players, then the supporters, and then the times that we need to have equality and the same chances for every club. So hopefully it will be fair."

The EFL admitted they were frustrated about moving the tie between Arsenal and Crystal Palace, as it now takes place a week after the other quarter-finalists. They also highlighted concerns over the impact on the competition's standing.

“To continue making endless concessions only serves to undermine the reputation of the EFL Cup – a competition which delivers vital revenue to EFL clubs and provides millions of supporters with the opportunity to back their team on the road to Wembley each season,” the EFL said in a statement.

“It also challenges the traditional scheduling of the English football calendar and strength of our domestic game, which relies upon teams having the necessary time for preparation and ability to field their strongest lineups, in order to entertain their supporters and progress through the competition.”

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