England boss Gareth Southgate has been handed his Premier League wish for the new season… after the so-called ‘Big Six’ were kept apart in the final round of fixtures ahead of the World Cup.
The FA had submitted a formal request to counterparts at the Premier League to keep Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur apart for the final round of fixtures before the competition in Qatar.
The World Cup begins on November 21, and the England boss - who has found himself under-fire after the humiliating 4-0 defeat to Hungary on Tuesday - admitted on Monday that a request had been made for the final round of Premier League fixtures on the weekend of November 12.