Due to an agreement reached by the FA, fans hoping to watch some Premier League action this weekend will have to wait a little longer before the action resumes. This is because the final international break of the 2024–25 season is almost over.
With nine games remaining, many decisions still to be made as Manchester City, who have won the competition for the past four years, looks to escape the shame of losing out on the top four and Liverpool aims to win the English championship for the twentieth time. However, since another tournament is scheduled to take place this weekend, none of those queries will have any immediate answers.
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
The FA Cup quarterfinals, which feature seven top-flight teams vying for a spot in the last four, are the reason for the absence of Premier League games this weekend, according to a report from talkSPORT. Due to the number of teams eliminated from the tournament, Premier League games would typically still start at this point in the season. This is no longer the case, though.
The FA has decided to skip all top-flight league games for the first time since the Premier League’s founding in order to focus the entire weekend’s schedule on the cup competition. This is the first time the quarterfinal stage has been given this treatment, even though it has been done before for the fourth and fifth rounds.
On Tuesday, April 1st, Wolves will host West Ham, Arsenal will play Fulham, and Nottingham Forest will host Manchester United at the City Ground in the first Premier League games of the season. Given Manchester United’s 3-0 victory against Leicester City was the final match played before the internationals, there will be more than a two-week break between gameweeks.
Since many of their players must return from international trips after fulfilling their national obligations, it provides the 13 teams that are no longer in the FA Cup with some extra, valuable recuperation time before they resume play. As clubs try to secure a spot at Wembley, all eyes will be on the oldest domestic football cup in history.
Preston North End of the Championship is the only team not in the top division of English football, while Manchester City, Brighton, and Aston Villa are among the teams still competing.
Quarterfinal FA Cup Ties
Games
Date
KO Time
Crystal Palace against Fulham
March 29, 25
12:15
Brighton versus Nottingham Forest
March 29, 25
17:15
Aston Villa vs. Preston
March 30, 2025
13:30
Against Manchester City, Bournemouth
March 30, 2025
16:30
