Arsenal and Crystal Palace’s Premier League match was moved up one day over the weekend before Christmas, as the Carabao Cup quarter-finals will take place on December 23rd.
Arsenal and Palace were scheduled to play away to Everton and Leeds respectively on December 21st.
However, the Carabao Cup quarter-finals are scheduled for 48 hours later, so the two sides will play live on Sky Sports on Saturday, December 20th at 8pm.
Arsenal and Palace will face off in a Carabao Cup last eight match that will be broadcast live on Sky Sports on December 23rd.
Palace will take part in the UEFA Conference League on Thursday 18th December, so this match will be played in a separate midweek from the rest of the quarter-finals (week commencing 15th December).
The original schedule was for Palace to play three games in five days, while Arsenal were also scheduled to play two games within 48 hours.
However, the Premier League changed top-flight fixtures after Mikel Arteta and Oliver Glasner expressed dissatisfaction with a schedule that did not respect player welfare.
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Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner was furious at the traditional fixture congestion, with his team playing four games in 10 days before Christmas.
In a statement, the Premier League said: “Player welfare is a top priority for the Premier League and that is why we have granted requests from Arsenal and Crystal Palace to move their respective matches.”
“This comes after matches in other competitions were scheduled around Premier League matches without sufficient recovery time for players. It is also further evidence of the impact of UEFA’s expansion of competitions on the domestic fixture calendar.”
“The League would like to thank Leeds United and Everton for working together to accommodate these changes.”
However, Palace are scheduled to play two games in three days as they play a home conference league game against KuPS on Thursday, December 18th, before facing Leeds on December 20th.
The games against KuPs are part of the final round of the conference league and are all scheduled to be played at the same time.
Last month, Palace manager Glasner called for European matches to be brought forward to Wednesday, with no Champions League or Europa League football to be played in midweek.
However, Sky Sports News understands that UEFA’s request has been refused.
What’s on Arsenal and Palace’s festival calendar?
arsenal
December 13: Wolves (H), Premier League, 8pm kick-off, live on Sky Sports
December 20: Everton (A), Premier League, 8pm kick-off, live on Sky Sports
23 December: Crystal Palace (H), Carabao Cup quarter-final, 8pm kick-off, live on Sky Sports
December 27: Brighton (H), Premier League, 3pm kick-off
December 30: Aston Villa (H), Premier League, kick-off 8.15pm, live on Sky Sports
January 3: Bournemouth (A), Premier League, 5.30pm kick-off, live on Sky Sports
January 8: Liverpool (H), Premier League, 8pm kick-off, live on Sky Sports
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December 14: Man City (H), Premier League, 2pm kick-off, live on Sky Sports
December 18: KuPs (H), UEFA Conference League, 8pm kick-off
December 20: Leeds (A), Premier League, 8pm kick-off, live on Sky Sports
23 December: Arsenal (A), Carabao Cup quarter-final, 8pm kick-off, live on Sky Sports
December 28: Tottenham (H), Premier League, 4.30pm kick-off, live on Sky Sports
January 1: Fulham (H), Premier Live, kick-off 5.30pm, live on Sky Sports
January 4: Newcastle (A), Premier League, 3pm kick-off
January 7: Aston Villa (H), Premier League, kick-off 7.30pm, live on Sky Sports
