Arsenal have applied for their Premier League game against Everton to be played a day earlier than it had initially been scheduled.
Mikel Arteta’s side beat Brighton in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup last month, setting up a fifth round fixture against Crystal Palace at the Emirates.
However, the scheduling of the League Cup quarter-final has caused issues, as Palace have a Europa Conference League fixture scheduled for 18th December, a day or two after the clash in North London is supposed to take place.
The fifth round game was subsequently moved to 23rd December, 48 hours after Arsenal play Everton at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.
Understandably not wanting to play two games in the space of three days, the Gunners have now requested that their encounter with the Toffees be moved to Saturday 20th December, according to BBC Sport.
Arsenal want to play Everton on the Saturday at 8pm rather than the Sunday, so they have an extra day to prepare for the Palace clash.
It remains to be seen whether the Premier League will approve this request.
The Premier League could block Arsenal’s request
There is one reason why Arsenal’s application may be denied.
The initial idea behind moving the Palace game to the 23rd was to level the playing field, with the Eagles also playing on Sunday the 21st, away at Leeds United.
The game at Elland Road cannot be moved to the Saturday, as Palace play KuPS in the Conference League on the Thursday. UEFA rejected the South London club’s request to move this game to the Wednesday night.
Therefore, the Premier League may feel Arsenal gain an unfair advantage by playing a day earlier than Palace, before the quarter-final on the 23rd.
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