The Premier League will be required to reschedule one of Tottenham Hotspur’s remaining Premier League fixtures before the end of the season following Chelsea’s victory over Leeds United in the FA Cup semi-final.
The Blues secured a 1-0 win against Leeds at Wembley Stadium on Sunday afternoon, with Enzo Fernandez netting the decisive goal for Calum McFarlane’s side.
The triumph means Chelsea will go head-to-head with Manchester City in next month’s FA Cup final, after City booked their place in the showpiece fixture with a 2-1 win over Southampton on Saturday.
The final between Chelsea and City is scheduled to take place at Wembley on Saturday, May 16 – the very same weekend Spurs are due to face the Blues in the Premier League, a fixture that will now need to be rearranged.
Tottenham and Chelsea are both in Premier League action next weekend, with Spurs taking on Aston Villa on Sunday, May 3, while the Blues face Nottingham Forest on Monday, May 4.
It is precisely because Chelsea are in action on the Monday evening that the Tottenham fixture is unlikely to be rescheduled for the week of May 4-10.
The Blues then return to Premier League duty on Saturday, May 9, when they travel to face Liverpool at Anfield. Spurs will then take on Leeds United in the same game week on Monday, May 11 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. It is the timing of this fixture that rules out another midweek spot for the match between Tottenham and Chelsea.
Chelsea will subsequently meet City in the FA Cup final on May 16, and it is only after this date that Spurs can expect to take on the Blues.
The showdown between Chelsea and Tottenham is likely to be scheduled in the week following the FA Cup final and ahead of the Premier League’s final day on May 24.
This would result in Tottenham facing Chelsea in a midweek fixture, before taking on Everton in their last league outing of the season.
For Chelsea, this would see the Blues going up against City in the FA Cup final, followed by a rescheduled fixture against Tottenham, then a Premier League finale against Sunderland all within the space of a single week.