Everton David Moyes
(Credit: Imago)
Goodison News speaking to Bryan King
Thu 27 March 2025 17:40, UK
Everton recently saw a request denied by the Premier League, with one former Goodison employee fully in favour of this denial.
David Moyes’ side face a difficult return to action following the March international break as they travel to Anfield to face Liverpool on Wednesday (2 April) before hosting Arsenal at Goodison Park (5 April).
These fixtures have been made all the more difficult with one Everton player likely to miss both games.
And it looks as though the Premier League have absolutely zero interest in making things a bit easier for the Toffees after a recent development.
Moyes will hope to derail Liverpool’s title charge (Credit: Imago)
Premier League denies request made by Liverpool & Everton
As reported by Mail Online (23 March), Everton requested to bring the Merseyside Derby forward by 24 hours and have the match played on Tuesday (1 April) rather than Wednesday.
MORE TOFFEES STORIES
However, this approach – which was backed by Liverpool – was immediately rebuffed by the Premier League. Arsenal will host Fulham at the Emirates on Tuesday, which means they will have an extra 24 hours to prepare for the clash at Goodison Park.
This would explain why the request was made by the Toffees, and Liverpool’s decision to back the request is probably because Arsenal are their closest challengers for the title, and they won’t want the Gunners to be handed any advantages.
A club is allowed a minimum of 60 hours between Premier League fixtures, and given that there are 64.5 hours between the Liverpool and Arsenal clash, Everton’s request was denied.
Fixture Date Time
Liverpool v Everton 2 April 8:00 pm
Everton v Arsenal 5 April 12:30pm
Everton will have little time to prepare for their clash with Arsenal
However, ex-Goodison scout Bryan King – speaking exclusively to Goodison News – believes Everton and Liverpool were wrong to make this request.
“The Premier League were right to deny this request,” King said.
“These matches are controlled by the television companies. They are the ones paying the money, the Premier League need to go along with it.
“Viewing figures will dictate when these matches are played. Everton are taking the mick a bit here, thinking they can have a game moved because there is another game on Saturday?
“They still have enough time to get ready for the Arsenal game, plus the season is almost finished.”
Richard Masters
Richard Masters is the CEO of the Premier League
Everton must remain focused on Liverpool and Arsenal
Considering the tense relationship between the Premier League and Everton, this recent denial is unlikely to have been received well at Goodison Park.
However, Moyes needs to ensure the players are fully focused on the task at hand, and there will no doubt be a bit of added motivation heading into the clash with Liverpool after the fiery 2-2 Premier League draw at Goodison Park on 12 February.
Related Posts