#fixture-congestion

#fixture-congestion

It's going to be a really good game. I think it's going to be competitive and there's an edge between both teams after our competition last year. They're very much similar to how they played last year, a similar shape and they've made a few improvements and some shrewd signings. They've done really well. We know Charlton are going to be very competitive in terms of the way they play, similar to the Portsmouth game in many respects, but we're prepared for that.

Arsenal have voiced strong opposition to Crystal Palace's request that their Carabao Cup quarter-final be played on 23 December, with Mikel Arteta insisting it would not be fair to make both teams play two matches in little more than 48 hours. The tie is scheduled for Tuesday 16 December in a gruelling run of three matches in five days for Palace, who have a Premier League game at home to Manchester City two days earlier and a Conference League fixture against KuPS on 18 December.

A record-breaking nine English sides will play European football in 2025-26 - Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Newcastle and Tottenham in the Champions League; Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest in the Europa League; and Crystal Palace in the Conference League. But will those clubs who are not in Europe be able to capitalise on having a less hectic fixture schedule and more rest between matches? When Leicester City shocked the footballing world to win the Premier League in 2015-16, they only played 43 games in all competitions, with no European distractions.