The Premier League has rejected Aston Villa’s plea to postpone their match against Liverpool for next week, leaving them to play five games in 14 days. This comes after Unai Emery’s team had just one league game planned for the entire month of March when their game against the league leaders was postponed to make room for the Carabao Cup final, in which Arne Slot’s team will play Newcastle United on March 16.
The West Midlands team now has a tough schedule, facing Cardiff City in the FA Cup fifth round on February 28 after playing league games against Ipswich Town, Liverpool, Chelsea, and Crystal Palace. Villa had intended to move the Liverpool match to the third week of March, as the Champions League round of 16 began in early March.
Aston Villa’s schedule of games
Date
The adversary
Location (at home or elsewhere)
Rivalry
February 15th
Town of Ipswich
House
The Premier League
February 19th
Liverpool
House
The Premier League
February 22nd
Chelsea
House
The Premier League
February 25th
The Crystal Palace
Out of the way
The Premier League
February 28.
Cardiff City
House
FA Cup
They argued about only playing one league game the following month, on March 8, against Brentford. But according to The Telegraph, the Premier League has turned down their appeal, therefore Emery and his team will have a lot of games to choose from in the upcoming weeks.
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Aston Villa Fume Over Punishing Fixture Pile-Up
The Villans are playing every 2.8 days on average between now and the end of February
As the team attempts to balance domestic obligations with European play for the first time in more than thirty years, Emery is aiming for a top-four Premier League finish this season. With Ollie Watkins, Pau Torres, Tyrone Mings, Matty Cash, Amadou Onana, and Ross Barkley all missing last Sunday’s FA Cup match against Tottenham, his team is already dealing with injuries.
Defensive midfielders Boubacar Kamara and Lamare Bogarde filled in at center-back when England international Ezri Konsa was also substituted due to an injury sustained in the first half. Chelsea loanee Axel Disasi will not be able to play against his parent club or Cardiff because he has already played in the FA Cup this season, severely limiting Emery’s choices for the squad rotation.
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The revelation has caused the Villa supporters to react negatively to a backlog of games that may potentially make or break their campaign. “Irrationality. While one X user commented, “No wonder there’s so many injuries!” another questioned, “What possible justification does the Premier League have for not moving the fixture?” “Five games in 14 days is utterly ridiculous,” said a third commenter. One person concluded, “That’s an absolute farce,” while another described it as a “complete joke.”
Villa’s current form—they have only lost once in their last six games—is the only bright spot in their approaching ordeal. And since Emery’s team is presently sitting eighth in the standings, six points outside of the top four, and the most of their February games are at home, there is every reason to think they can emerge from the match reasonably unscathed.
