If you’re looking to make an early move in Fantasy Premier League (FPL), be aware that 15 Premier League teams are in action before we get to Gameweek 5 – and that’s not including Leeds United and Newcastle United, who play tonight.
Injuries can and often do crop up whenever there are midweek games, while UEFA Europa League or EFL Cup teamsheets may give us a few clues as to a Premier League manager’s intentions for the weekend.
With that in mind, here’s when the domestic and European fixtures take place this week.
Times are in BST.
TUESDAY 15 SEPTEMBER
- 19:45 – West Ham United v FULHAM (EFL Cup)
- 20:00 – IPSWICH TOWN v ARSENAL (EFL Cup)
- 20:00 – LIVERPOOL v TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR (EFL Cup)
- 20:00 – Reading v BRENTFORD (EFL Cup)
WEDNESDAY 16 SEPTEMBER
- 19:45 – EVERTON v Wolverhampton Wanderers (EFL Cup)
- 20:00 – COVENTRY CITY v ASTON VILLA (EFL Cup)
- 20:00 – MANCHESTER UNITED v BRIGHTON AND HOVE ALBION (EFL Cup)
- 20:00 – SUNDERLAND v AZ Alkmaar (Conference League)
THURSDAY 17 SEPTEMBER
- 19:30 – MANCHESTER CITY v Norwich City (EFL Cup)
- 20:00 – CRYSTAL PALACE v Lech Poznan (Conference League)
- 20:00 – Real Sociedad v BOURNEMOUTH (Conference League)
MIDWEEK OFF
- CHELSEA
- HULL CITY
- LEEDS UNITED*
- NEWCASTLE UNITED*
- NOTTINGHAM FOREST
*not including the Monday night meeting between the two clubs at Elland Road
TURNAROUND TIMES
Thanks to the wonderful work of Legomane, we can see the turnaround times from these midweek fixtures to Gameweek 5.
This will be the first time we’ve seen Bournemouth and Sunderland in European action in the Premier League era (and indeed ever, in the Cherries’ case), while Crystal Palace also get their Europa League campaign underway.
With Regis Le Bris never having managed in Europe before, and with Palace and Bournemouth under new stewardship, we’re in uncharted territory when it comes to what rotation we can expect between continental and domestic competitions.
The good news regarding Sunderland is that they get to play on Wednesday, rather than Thursday, as the Europa League gets the monopoly on midweek European action this week. The Champions League and Conference League resume after the internationals.
As for the other dozen Premier League sides with matches on Tuesday-Thursday, they contest EFL Cup ties. Most of them, of course, will likely send out heavily rotated teams or even completely second-string XIs.
Any short turnaround times to Gameweek 5 (62.5 hours and 64.5 hours for Aston Villa and Manchester City) might be largely irrelevant, then.
Brentford, Everton, Fulham and Man City face Football League opposition in the cup, while there are four all-Premier-League matches.
Stay tuned for team news today and tomorrow from the pre-match press conferences ahead of these midweek fixtures.
