Viktor Gyökeres takes on Maxence Lacroix during the teams’ meeting in October.Photograph: Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC/Getty Images
Arsenal and Crystal Palace have succeeded with requests to the Premier League to move their fixtures the weekend before they meet in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals.
The teams play in the cup at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday 23 December and had been due to play at 2pm GMT on Sunday 21 December. Instead Arsenal’s game at Everton and Palace’s at Leeds will take place at 8pm the previous day.
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Palace host KuPS in the Conference League on Thursday 18 December but preferred to squeeze the time between that game and their fixture at Leeds rather than face Arsenal so soon after their Elland Road trip.
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The league said: “Player welfare is a priority for the Premier League, and we have therefore granted requests from Arsenal and Crystal Palace to move their respective fixtures. This comes after the scheduling of matches from other competitions around Premier League fixtures without adequate player recovery time. This is also further evidence of the impact the expanded Uefa competitions have on the domestic fixture calendar.
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“The League would like to thank Leeds United and Everton for their cooperation in accommodating these changes. Both matches will remain live on Sky Sports.”
The Carabao Cup tie was initially scheduled for Tuesday 16 December in what would have been a run of three matches in five days for Palace.