Six matches in England’s top soccer league have been postponed this weekend. Why is that?
Normally, supporters of the affected clubs could look forward to attractive matches, such as the city-internal duel between Bayern’s Champions League quarter-final opponents Arsenal and Chelsea FC. Or the Merseyside derby between Everton and Liverpool FC. But these games, along with four others, have been canceled on this 29th matchday of the Premier League.
The reason for this is the FA Cup. The oldest soccer tournament in the world is holding its quarter-finals this weekend. Because the competition overlaps with the Premier League weekend and has priority in the comparison, all league games involving an FA Cup quarter-final winner cannot take place for the time being
Three teams will have to wait until at least the end of April
So the matches between the two Manchester clubs, who are both still in the tournament, will also have to be postponed. The search for an alternative date will be particularly tricky for the clubs still represented internationally.
As the FA Cup quarter-finals are followed by the international break and a regular English league week immediately afterwards, the canceled matches between European Cup quarter-finalists Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool cannot be rescheduled until the end of April at the earliest. A difficult task for the Premier League officials
