THE Premier League fixture between Arsenal and Manchester City will be played at the same time as Champions League ties despite rules banning it.
The top of the table clash is all set for Wednesday 15, at the same time Club Brugge face Benfica and Borussia Dortmund welcome Chelsea.
Rules prohibit top division domestic matches occurring at the same time as European matches to not give fans across the world a headache with what to watch.
However, the biggest game of the season has been allowed to happen this Wednesday due to Uefa doing a huge favour in return after the Premier League helped them.
City’s trip to Arsenal was originally scheduled for the weekend after Queen Elizabeth II passed away on September 8 and it was therefore postponed.
The Gunners’ fixture in the Europa League with PSV Eindhoven was also cancelled as a result.
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The City match was hastily put in the calendar for October 19 but this handed Uefa a major scheduling nightmare.
It gave the governing body no time to finish the Europa League group stages before the World Cup pause as there was no other available midweek remaining.
The Prem gave way and further delayed the highly anticipated match until after the tournament in Qatar to accommodate PSV’s trip to the Emirates Stadium, which ended in a 1-0 win to the Gunners.
This favour has clearly been appreciated by those in charge of the Champions League as there has been zero pushback from them regarding the setting of the game for this Wednesday.
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Uefa normally frown upon league’s trying to get matches played while their elite competition takes place.
Arsenal against City kicks-off at 7:30pm and the European clashes begin half an hour later.
Despite much interest in the Round of 16 matches, many eyes will be on Pep Guardiola and Mikel Arteta’s sides.
A win for the current champions would take them above their closest challengers on goal difference, with just three points separating them.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
