Arsenal are playing catch-up in the Premier League title race but rivals Liverpool will begin to feel the pressure when the competition resumes at the start of April
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Liverpool manager Arne Slot throwing up his hands
A Liverpool fixture change request has been knocked back(Image: Getty Images)
The Premier League have turned down a request to move the upcoming Merseyside Derby, it has been claimed. Liverpool and Everton had both looked to find a new date for the match, which is due to take place on April 2.
Everton will travel to Anfield on April 2, followed by a lunchtime game at home to Arsenal less than 72 hours later. The two Merseyside clubs had explored moving their own game forward, and - if accepted - that request would have given David Moyes' side more time to recover ahead of their weekend fixture.
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According to The Mail, both Everton and Liverpool saw positives in switching their encounter to April 1. However, the Premier League is understood to have said no.
It is unclear when any such request was made. The Premier League announced its April TV matches on February 28, with the Merseyside Derby shown on Sky Sports and TNT Sports picking up Everton vs Arsenal.
Liverpool go into the upcoming run of fixtures with a 12-point lead at the top and just nine matches remaining. They went into the international break having suffered back-to-back defeats for the first time all season, though.
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After Paris Saint-Germain eliminated Arne Slot's Reds from Europe, Newcastle handed them a 2-1 defeat in the Carabao Cup final. "It’s part of football if you face strong teams that you can lose as well," Slot admitted after the Wembley reverse.
"Ideally you go through the whole season only winning, winning, winning. But it can happen that after eight months of football you lose twice in a row if you face Paris Saint-Germain and Newcastle."
Action from Arsenal vs Everton in the Premier League in 2024
Everton will face Arsenal less than 72 hours after the Merseyside Derby
Arsenal ended a three-game winless league run in their final game before the international break. Mikel Merino's header was enough to see off Chelsea, and they have two more home London derbies either side of the Everton match as they welcome Fulham and Brentford to the Emirates Stadium.
Star player Bukayo Saka could be back in time for those games, with manager Mikel Arteta hopeful the forward might be able to return after hamstring surgery. Saka hasn't featured since December, when he was forced off just 24 minutes into a win away at Crystal Palace.
"We play a top opponent and the team played with an unbelievable spirit and now we go to the international break," Arteta told Sky Sports after the victory against Chelsea. "The only thing we can do is try to win our matches. If we do, we are in a better position."
Even if Arsenal win all nine of their games, they will need rivals Liverpool to slip up. Slot's team have dropped only 17 points across their first 29 league fixtures, and won three on the spin going into the international break, despite their cup setbacks.
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