FA Cup to cause fixture mess as Liverpool and Arsenal await draw fate | Football | Sport
The FA Cup quarter-final draw is poised to create a fixture congestion headache for both Southampton and Port Vale – with the two non-Premier League clubs requiring alternative dates for postponed matches.
The eight remaining teams in the competition will contest their quarter-final ties on the weekend of April 4 – forcing their planned league fixtures for that weekend to be rescheduled. Top-flight clubs are well-versed in rearranging matches for FA Cup commitments.
However, sides lower down the football pyramid may struggle to identify a suitable replacement date. League One Port Vale produced the weekend’s biggest upset by defeating Premier League Sunderland courtesy of a first-half strike from Ben Waine.
Meanwhile, in the capital, Championship Southampton progressed past Fulham thanks to a stoppage-time penalty from Ross Stewart.
The FA Cup quarter-finals will take place on Easter Weekend, a significant weekend in the Football League calendar – Port Vale are scheduled to travel to Cardiff in the Welsh capital on April 3, before welcoming Rotherham to Vale Park three days afterwards.
Southampton are similarly set to feature across the same two days, hosting Ipswich on the Friday before making the trip to Wrexham on the Monday.
The unforgiving scheduling in the EFL means that the midweek-weekend fixture calendar offers minimal opportunity to locate a vacant slot. For Port Vale, there is just one available midweek between the FA Cup quarter-final period and the final day of the campaign on May 2.
They are set to travel to Plymouth on April 25 before welcoming Lincoln a week later – leaving that midweek as their only feasible free slot. Southampton have a bit more flexibility as they benefit from two one-week breaks between matches.
There’s a chance that both Port Vale and Southampton may be compelled to play one of their Easter Weekend fixtures in the days preceding or following their FA Cup quarter-finals. The task of finding available slots for matches could become even more complex if Port Vale or Southampton were to spring another surprise by reaching the semi-finals, which are planned for April 25.
The eighth team for the quarter-final draw will be determined on Monday night when West Ham take on Brentford. Arsenal, Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea and Leeds are all still in the competition.
Arsenal sidestepped a cup upset by defeating Mansfield on Saturday, whilst Chelsea also overcame lower league opposition despite an early fright, beating Wrexham. City triumphed over Newcastle at St James’ Park, with Leeds dispatching Norwich.
