With the final international break of the 2024/25 season coming to a close, fans expecting to be able to tune into some Premier League action this weekend will have to wait a little longer, as an agreement made by the FA means viewers will have to wait a little while longer before the action resumes.
With just nine games to go, there are many things still left undecided as Liverpool seek to become champions of England for a 20th time and Manchester City look to avoid the embarrassment of missing out on the top four, having won the competition for the last four years. However, none of those questions will have any immediate answers, as another competition is set to take precedence this weekend.
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FA Cup Games Set to Replace Premier League Fixtures
The FA agreed no league games will take place during the quarter-finals of the domestic cup
fa-cup
According to a report from talkSPORT, the lack of Premier League games this weekend is a result of the FA Cup quarter-finals taking place, with seven top-flight sides set to battle it out for a place in the last four. Ordinarily, at this stage of the competition, Premier League games would still commence due to the number of sides knocked out of the tournament. However, this is no longer the case.
For the first time since the Premier League's inception, the FA have agreed to host no top-flight league games in order to dedicate the entire weekend's fixtures to the cup competition. While this has previously been done for the fourth and fifth rounds, it is the first time that the quarter-final stage has received such treatment.
The first Premier League games back are set to take place on Tuesday, April 1st, as Wolves host West Ham, Arsenal take on Fulham, and Nottingham Forest welcome Manchester United to the City Ground. This means that there will be over a two-week gap between gameweeks, with United's 3-0 win over Leicester City being the last game to have taken place prior to the internationals.
For the 13 teams no longer in the FA Cup, it gives them some additional and precious rest time before getting back underway, with many of their stars having to travel back from all over the world following their commitments for their countries. It also means that all eyes will be on the oldest domestic cup in football history, as teams look to book their place at Wembley.
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Manchester City, Brighton, and Aston Villa are among those still left in the competition, while Championship side Preston North End remain the only ones not in the top tier of English football.
FA Cup Quarter-Final Ties
Games
Fulham vs Crystal Palace
Brighton vs Nottingham Forest
Preston vs Aston Villa
Bournemouth vs Manchester City