The Premier League postponed all games that were due to be played between Saturday, Sept. 10 through to Monday, Sept. 12 as a mark of respect after the death of Queen Elizabeth II at the age of 96.
Calling off matches in a season which has been truncated by the winter World Cup, which kicks off in Qatar on Nov. 20, means finding a place to play the games is no easy task.
Here we take a look at the games that have been called off, other fixtures that are at risk, and possible solutions.
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Which games have been postponed?
All matches in the seventh round of fixtures.
– Olley: How Premier League came to a stop
AFC Bournemouth vs. Brighton & Hove Albion
Arsenal vs. Everton
Crystal Palace vs. Manchester United
Fulham vs. Chelsea
Leeds United vs. Nottingham Forest
Leicester City vs. Aston Villa
Liverpool vs. Wolverhampton Wanderers
Manchester City vs. Tottenham Hotspur
Southampton vs. Brentford
West Ham United vs. Newcastle United
Are any other games at risk of being postponed?
The Queen’s funeral is expected to be held on Monday, Sept. 19, which would not impact the Premier League as the two-week international break begins on the same day. But the matches due to be played the weekend before it, Sept. 16 to Sept. 18, are under threat.
Police resources will be required for the days leading up to the funeral and that means football matches may not be able to take place for safety reasons.
This is especially the case in the London area (matches in bold) — especially the two scheduled for the Sunday. Chelsea vs. Liverpool could, logistically at least, move forward a day and be played on the Saturday, but Arsenal are in Europa League action on Thursday evening so could only play on the Sunday.
Friday, Sept. 16, 2022
Aston Villa v Southampton
Nottingham Forest v Fulham
Saturday, Sept. 17, 2022
Wolverhampton Wanderers v Manchester City
Brighton & Hove Albion P-P Crystal Palace*
Newcastle United v AFC Bournemouth
Tottenham Hotspur v Leicester City
Sunday, Sept. 18, 2022
Brentford v Arsenal
Chelsea v Liverpool
Everton v West Ham United
Manchester United v Leeds United
*Brighton vs. Palace was postponed on Wednesday due to a planned train strike. That industrial action has now been cancelled, but there is no news about the game being reinstated on Sept. 17.
The Premier League and the EFL could choose to postpone all matches as a mark of respect before the funeral, but this is unlikely.
What about the games in European competition?
Arsenal, Man United and West Ham all played their games in the Europa League and Europa Conference League on Thursday. Arsenal were already in action against FC Zurich when the news of the Queen’s death broke, while United and West Ham were preparing for kickoff.
There had been speculation that next week’s games in those two competitions, as well as the six games featuring British clubs in the Champions League, could be called off. But all these ties will go ahead as scheduled.
Tuesday, Sept. 13
Liverpool vs. Ajax
Rangers vs. Napoli
Sporting CP vs. Tottenham Hotspur
Wednesday, Sept. 14
Chelsea vs. FC Salzburg
Manchester City vs. Borussia Dortmund
Shakhtar Donetsk vs. Celtic
Thursday, Sept. 15
Arsenal vs. PSV Eindhoven
RFS vs. Hearts
Sheriff vs. Man United
