This weekend's Premier League games have been postponed as a mark of respect for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. The Queen passed away peacefully on Thursday afternoon at Balmoral Castle.
Games in the English Football League, National League and Barclays Women's Super League will also not be played with English football uniting to postpone all fixtures between September 9-11. The Premier League and EFL have all confirmed that their fixtures this weekend will be rescheduled for a later date, with further updates regarding matches during the period of mourning to be provided in due course.
The news means that fans will have to wait for Tottenham and Man City to go head-to-head at the Etihad Stadium, with the game originally pencilled in for 5.30pm on Saturday evening. Both enjoying unbeaten starts to the season, the showdown was undoubtedly seen as the game of the weekend after the sides played out a classic at the Etihad Stadium back in February.
READ MORE: Premier League release statement and confirm fixture decision after Queen Elizabeth II's death
Going into the encounter on the back of three successive defeats and with Man City riding high at the top, not many gave Tottenham a chance of getting something from the Etihad Stadium. However, Antonio Conte's side produced a masterclass and ran out 3-2 winners thanks to Harry Kane's stoppage-time winner.
So when exactly could the postponed game be rearranged for? Well, it could be January at the earliest when the match is played due to the amount of games coming up between now and the start of the World Cup in November.
Tottenham are down to play Sporting CP and Leicester City next week as things stand prior to the first international break of the season, with league action resuming on Saturday, October 1 when they have a North London Derby clash vs Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium. The schedule is relentless after that with all midweek slots filled up due to four rounds of European action, one Premier League round and the Carabao Cup third round talking place.
It is very much the same come the start of 2023 when Premier League clubs enter the third round of the FA Cup. There is a free midweek slot week commencing Monday, January 16 but that is likely to be when FA Cup third round replays are played as round five of the Carabao Cup takes place a week earlier, with the semi-finals of the competition taking place the week after potential FA Cup replays.
Finding a date in February could also prove to be rather tricky as European football resumes midway through the month. Prior to that, a midweek slot between Tottenham's home game against Man City on Saturday, February 4 and their trip to Leicester one week later will again likely be reserved for FA Cup fourth round replays.
March is again the same with European rounds in the midweek slots before the first international break of the 2023 takes place after the weekend of Saturday, March 18. European football and a round of Premier League games dominates the midweek calendar in April, but there is one free midweek at the start of the month for now with no European fixtures scheduled for the week of Monday, April 3.
Another possible option for the postponed Premier League round could be week commencing Monday, May 1 as there are no European games in the midweek schedule. There are also no fixtures in the calendar leading up to the final day on Sunday, May 28, although this is normally the case to fit in any other matches that are called off prior to then.
With limited options at present due to the new schedule to accommodate the 2022 World Cup and the possibility of more cancelled games as the season goes on, one solution to free up space for any postponed games would be to scrap FA Cup replays. However, whether this happens or not remains to be seen.
The 2022/23 calendar is jam-packed and there is very little room to manoeuvre in terms of fitting in postponed games as things stand. It will now be down to Premier League and FA chiefs to find the best solution over the coming weeks and months.
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