Any hope that we might get a ‘provisional’ Double Gameweek announcement today was dashed.
The Premier League only confirmed the television picks/new dates for Gameweek 35, with the schedule now looking as follows:
GAMEWEEK 35 FIXTURES: NEW DATES + TIMES
Friday 1 May
- 20:00 Leeds United v Burnley (Sky Sports)
Saturday 2 May
- 12:30 Aston Villa v Tottenham Hotspur (TNT Sports)*
- 15:00 AFC Bournemouth v Crystal Palace
- 15:00 Brentford v West Ham United
- 15:00 Newcastle United v Brighton & Hove Albion
- 15:00 Wolverhampton Wanderers v Sunderland
- 17:30 Arsenal v Fulham (Sky Sports)
Sunday 3 May
- 15:30 Manchester United v Liverpool (Sky Sports)
Monday 4 May
- 15:00 Chelsea v Nottingham Forest (Sky Sports)
- 20:00 Everton v Manchester City (Sky Sports)
*This match will move to Sunday 3 May, 19:00 BST, if Aston Villa reach the Europa League semi-finals
LEEDS v BURNLEY MOVES TO FRIDAY
The Leeds v Burnley match moving to Friday of Gameweek 35 is an interesting one.
Daniel Farke’s side are one of the Premier League teams that will have their Gameweek 34 matches postponed, should they make it to the FA Cup semi-finals. The Whites are scheduled to face Bournemouth in the league then.
Does today’s announcement make it less likely that, if it is postponed, Bournemouth v Leeds moves to the midweek after Gameweek 34?
Farke’s troops could still play…
- Saturday 25 April (FA Cup semi-final)
- Tuesday 28 April (Gameweek 34 v Bournemouth)
- Friday 1 May (Gameweek 35 v Burnley)
…but you can’t imagine the Whites would be too enamoured with successive 72-hour turnarounds, particularly with Premier League survival on the line.
Bournemouth v Leeds shifting to another Gameweek (creating a double for both clubs) remains a real possibility, then – but obviously only if the Whites reach the FA Cup semi-finals.
We should get an answer for sure over the next 10 days or so, a) after the FA Cup quarter-finals and b) when the Premier League then firms up the Blank/Double Gameweek schedule.
