Sheffield United are currently scheduled to host Newcastle United in the Premier League just two days after their trip to Wolverhampton Wanderers.
The problem has arisen because of Wolves’ involvement in the Europa League group stage. Matches are played on Thursday evenings, which means their league fixtures the following weekend need to be moved to the Sunday.
Such is the case at the end of November when they play Braga. It means the Blades’ trip to Molineux which was due to be played on November 30, has now been moved to 2pm on December 1.
In general this isn’t too much of an issue. However, the Premier League also has midweek games scheduled straight afterwards. As things stand, Chris Wilder’s men host Newcastle on December 3.
Will the Sheffield United v Newcastle match be moved?
Usually, if a match is moved to the Sunday then a game the following Tuesday will subsequently be shifted to Wednesday.
MORE UNITED STORIES
Yet this practice is complicated by the fact the fixtures currently scheduled for December 3 and 4 are to be broadcast by Amazon.
As part of a new TV deal for this season, the internet streaming service will show all 10 matches live. This includes the Blades v Newcastle at Bramall Lane.
The Chronicle reports an announcement is expected imminently on the TV fixture list for December and January. But as things stand that game will be played on December 3 – two days after the Wolves clash.
It is one of six fixtures currently scheduled for that evening. Yet five of those involve at least one team now playing on the previous Sunday. Burnley v Manchester City is the only one unaffected.
Crystal Palace v Bournemouth is due to take place on the Wednesday at the moment. That could feasibly be moved to the Tuesday as both sides are playing on the Saturday before.
Yet Amazon are unlikely to want eight of their matches on the same evening. This could therefore see some moved to Thursday, 4 December. This in turn would then have a knock-on effect for the following weekend.