Round Two of the Carabao Cup has been drawn, with some eyebrow-raising permutations.
At this stage of the competition, Premier League teams not involved in European football enter the fray, with 11 top-flight sides kicking off their cup journeys before the start of September.
And that's thrown a spanner in the works for Chelsea and Fulham – who were both drawn at home in the cup.
When will Chelsea and Fulham play their Carabao Cup fixtures?
Scroll through the fixtures for the next round of the Carabao Cup and you'll see in the southern section of the draw that, yes, August 27 is a busy evening in West London.
That's because both Chelsea and Fulham have been drawn at home in the competition, to Luton Town and AFC Wimbledon respectively: which isn't supposed to happen, due to limits on policing and transport.
With Sky Sports having chosen the Blues vs the Whites for a Monday night slot on August 17, Carabao Cup fixtures would ordinarily have been played on a Thursday night, allowing for 72 hours' rest.
And so, Chelsea's clash with Brighton & Hove Albion and Fulham's trip to Sunderland were both moved to Sunday slots.
But there's a knock-on effect in the EFL, with Wimbledon and Luton both in League One action the Saturday after their cup ties – so if those Carabao Cup ties are scheduled for the Thursday, then the Saturday games should move to the Sunday.
Still following? Well, if those League One games move to the Sunday, there's the complication of the following Tuesday already having a full programme of League One games.
That could impact a further four matches, which could have to move to Wednesday: meaning either teams will have to play two games within 48 hours, or supporters will have their travel plans changed.
Date |
Affected games |
|---|---|
Saturday, August 29 |
Wimbledon vs Wigan |
Saturday, August 29 |
Mansfield vs Luton |
Tuesday, September 1 |
Burton vs Wimbledon |
Tuesday, September 1 |
Wigan vs MK Dons |
Tuesday, September 1 |
Luton vs Stockport |
Tuesday, September 1 |
Reading vs Mansfield |
This isn't the first time that the EFL have had to make concessions over fixture pile-ups,.
The third round of the competition now has seeding to ensure that teams playing in Europe don't clash with one another, while 2019 saw Liverpool face Aston Villa on 17 December at 19:45 GMT, before competing in the Club World Cup semi-final in Qatar the following day at 17:30.
Is anyone else getting the impression that we might just have too much football?
