The Premier League has come under fire from fans in the past for being unsupportive of its teams progressing in European competitions. However, this time around, the top English league has rescheduled some of its season-end fixtures in May, considering the involvement of Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Tottenham in the semis of two of Europe’s competitions.
Liverpool cruised past Porto with a 6-1 aggregate in the quarter-finals in the Champions League to book a semi-final berth with La Liga leaders Barcelona, while Spurs drew 4-4 with Manchester City and went through to the semis on away goals facing AFC Ajax.
Arsenal easily overcame a tough Napoli side with a 3-0 aggregate in the Europa League quarters, while Chelsea cruised past Slavia Prague on a 5-3 agg. The London sides will face Valencia and Eintracht Frankfurt in the semi-finals of Europe’s second tier competition.
This has led the Premier League to reschedule some of their fixtures to back its sides in Europe, after the Eredivisie did the same for Ajax.
Arsenal’s visit to Leicester has been shifted to 28th April midday before they host Valencia on the 3rd of May for their first leg clash.
Liverpool travel to Newcastle early on the 5th before hosting Barca on the 8th for their second leg, while Spurs’ initial 4th April trip to Bournemouth will be played on the 6th before visiting Ajax in the Dutch capital on the 9th.
Chelsea’s and Arsenal’s respective second leg Europa games will be played on the 10th of May, five days after hosting Brighton and Watford respectively.
