The semi-finals of the FA Cup take place on the same weekend as Gameweek 34, so there’ll be league fixtures postponed as a result of those clashes.
And, following the FA Cup quarter-final draw on Monday night, the bookmakers have begun to price up the respective ties.
Bet365 were the first to do so on Tuesday morning, and in this article, we summarise their implied odds/percentages.
BLANK GAMEWEEK 34: ODDS OF POSTPONEMENT
| GW34 Premier League fixture | Status | Match will be postponed if the following occurs: | Odds of postponement |
| Brighton v Chelsea | Possible blank | If Chelsea beat Port Vale in the FA Cup quarter-finals | 91.3% |
| Arsenal v Newcastle | Possible blank | If Arsenal beat Southampton in the FA Cup quarter-finals | 88.1% |
| Burnley v Man City | Possible blank | If Man City beat Liverpool in the FA Cup quarter-finals | 66.2% |
| West Ham v Everton | Possible blank | If West Ham beat Leeds in the FA Cup quarter-finals | 55.8% |
| Bournemouth v Leeds | Possible blank | If Leeds beat West Ham in the FA Cup quarter-finals | 44.2% |
| Liverpool v C Palace | Possible blank | If Liverpool beat Man City in the FA Cup quarter-finals | 33.8% |
| Fulham v Aston Villa | On | ||
| Man Utd v Brentford | On | ||
| Sunderland v Nottm Forest | On | ||
| Wolves v Spurs | On | ||
| Maximum number of postponements: 4 | |||
| Minimum number of postponements: 2 |
It’s important to stress, however, that ‘postponed’ does not necessarily mean a ‘blank’ for the teams in question.
Any postponed league matches could yet stay in Gameweek 34 (i.e. move to the midweek after it), if both affected teams are not involved in/out of Europe. That’s already the case with West Ham United and Leeds United and their respective Gameweek 34 opponents, for instance.
If that’s not possible, the postponed matches will likely move to Double Gameweek 33/36 (probably the former).
If the FA Cup ties go the way the bookies think, and Arsenal (or Newcastle), Chelsea and Man City make it through the Champions League round of 16, Brighton v Chelsea, Arsenal v Newcastle and Burnley v Man City will all come out of Gameweek 34 and into a different Gameweek (eg Double Gameweek 33).


