Plans changing: Mikel Arteta
Arsenal Football Newsletter
Arsenal and Manchester City could both face tight turnarounds between their Champions League round of 16 ties and subsequent Premier League fixtures.
The fixtures and dates for the next round of the Champions League were confirmed on Friday morning.
Arsenal will visit Bayer Leverkusen on March 10 before hosting the Bundesliga side for the second leg on March 17th, with those fixtures coming either side of a home Premier League match against Everton on Sunday, March 15.
City, meanwhile, face Real Madrid at the Bernabeu before welcoming them to the Etihad on the same days, with their intervening Premier League fixture involving a trip to face West Ham at 12.30pm on Saturday, March 14.
But the proximity between those Premier League matches and the following Tuesday night second-legs could lead to a scheduling headache for the title contenders.
The Premier League have already confirmed that both matches are subject to be rearranged.
While adjusted kick-off times have not yet been confirmed, Arsenal’s meeting with Everton will likely be moved from its planned 2pm kick-off on Sunday to a Saturday afternoon slot.
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There are a few options for when that match could take place, though a packed Saturday schedule means they will likely share a kick-off time with another club.
As the Saturday schedule stands, City have the early kick-off, with three matches in the 3pm slot before Chelsea host Newcastle at 5.30pm to round out the day’s action.
City will likely look to have their match against West Ham moved, as teams that play a Wednesday night European match rarely face an early kick-off the following Saturday.
Arsenal vs Everton was due to be televised by Sky on Sunday and thus must remain in a broadcast slot, ruling out a 3pm kick-off.
The fact that Manchester City vs West Ham is due to be broadcast by TNT and Arsenal by Sky presents another conflict, as the Premier League will shy away from holding both simultaneously and creating a clash between broadcasters.
The most likely placement for Arsenal vs Everton seems to be 5.30pm, simultaneous with Chelsea vs Newcastle.
Should that be the case and City are moved away from the 12.30 kick-off, their visit to West Ham will likely become an 8pm kick-off under the lights at the London Stadium.
The Premier League should confirm any changes to the match schedule in short order, so as to allow both teams and fans to make arrangements.