Liverpool have been given a raw deal on a few occasions already this season when it comes to fixture scheduling, but one report has suggested that they might finally catch a break in that regard.
The Reds have been given the Saturday 12:30 kick-off immediately after all three international windows in the autumn, which has been a bone of contention for Jurgen Klopp, especially with four key players away on World Cup qualifying duty in South America.
Now, as reported by The Telegraph, the Premier League is thought to be contemplating moving at least one fixture from 23 December to Christmas Eve, which is bound to prove highly unpopular with fans, especially those whose team is playing away.
However, with those scheduling discussions set to be finalised today, the good news for Liverpool is that our fixture against Arsenal at Anfield that weekend is ‘definitely not believed to be in contention’ as one of the games to possibly be moved to the 24th.
Having drawn the ire of Reds fans and Klopp over the habitual Saturday 12:30 scheduling immediately after international breaks, the Premier League may be offering something of an olive branch by apparently discounting Liverpool v Arsenal from being moved to Christmas Eve.
It’s the standout fixture from that weekend, with both sides quite possibly being in the thick of the title race at that point, so it’ll surely be given live TV coverage, but thankfully it looks set to be kept to 23 December.
Coincidentally, the two sides also met just prior to Christmas in 2017, when the Reds’ trip to north London (which ended 3-3) was brought forward to a Friday night, but that doesn’t seem too likely to be repeated again this year.
Our match against Manchester United on the weekend of 16/17 December looks set to be moved to the Sunday given our Europa League involvement the previous Thursday, which means that if we get past Bournemouth in the Carabao Cup fourth round, our quarter-final will probably be played on Wednesday 20th.
Arsenal could also be involved in the knockout tournament that week should they defeat West Ham in round four, so the firm likelihood is that their trip to Anfield will be on Saturday 23rd, with a kick-off time of 12:30, 5:30 or 8pm if (as seems inevitable) it’s chosen for live TV coverage.
We won’t count our chickens just yet until the final fixture details are published, but at least it’s looking as if the scheduling gods will finally smile on Liverpool this season.
#Ep94 of The Empire of the Kop Podcast: EOTK Insider with Neil Jones🎙️