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Exclusive: Tottenham to play Fulham instead of Aston Villa on Wednesday night
11 January 2021Updated 12:25 GMT
Tottenham Hotspur will play Fulham on Wednesday night rather than Aston Villa, report David Ornstein, Peter Rutzler and Daniel Taylor.
Aston Villa suffered a significant COVID-19 outbreak last week, with a number of first-team players isolating. As a result, their clash with Tottenham will not take place.
The Athletic understands Fulham are unhappy with facing Spurs at short-notice as they are currently expected to also play Chelsea on Friday. They were not planning for a game in the middle of the week.
Why is the Villa game being moved?
There was a serious COVID-19 outbreak at Villa. They used academy players in the FA Cup to play the game against Liverpool on Friday night, losing 4-1.
Premier League rules differ, though, and as a result, they are unable to fulfil the originally scheduled fixture on Wednesday night.
Why are Tottenham now playing Fulham?
Their game against Fulham, which was originally scheduled for December 30, was postponed due to a COVID-19 outbreak at the west London club.
The Premier League needed to find a slot to fit in the game and have now decided to replace the Villa game with that.
How have Fulham reacted to this?
They are understood to be unhappy that the game is being moved at such short notice.
Manager Scott Parker was not aware that it was a possibility until after the 2-0 win against QPR in the FA Cup on Saturday.
He might have fielded a different team in that game, which went to extra-time, if so.
What about the Chelsea game?
The Athletic understands that as it stands, Fulham are still scheduled to play Chelsea on Friday, just two days after facing Spurs.
Meanwhile, Chelsea’s game against Leicester on Tuesday could be moved back a day to Wednesday.
What is the current COVID-19 situation in football?
Early last week, the Premier League announced a record 40 positive COVID-19 tests in the last two rounds of testing between December 28 and January 3.
There have been a number of outbreaks recently.
The most significant has been at Fulham, who have had two games postponed as a result.
Southampton's game against Shrewsbury Town was postponed in the FA Cup third round at the weekend, while Aston Villa and Derby both had to play academy kids in their games due to COVID-19 outbreaks.
Where can I find out more?
News of the Premier League’s late decision to reschedule was first revealed in David Ornstein’s weekly column, which you can read by Going Deeper below.
11 January 2021Updated 12:25 GMT
Tottenham Hotspur will play Fulham on Wednesday night rather than Aston Villa, report David Ornstein, Peter Rutzler and Daniel Taylor.
Aston Villa suffered a significant COVID-19 outbreak last week, with a number of first-team players isolating. As a result, their clash with Tottenham will not take place.
The Athletic understands Fulham are unhappy with facing Spurs at short-notice as they are currently expected to also play Chelsea on Friday. They were not planning for a game in the middle of the week.
Why is the Villa game being moved?
There was a serious COVID-19 outbreak at Villa. They used academy players in the FA Cup to play the game against Liverpool on Friday night, losing 4-1.
Premier League rules differ, though, and as a result, they are unable to fulfil the originally scheduled fixture on Wednesday night.
Why are Tottenham now playing Fulham?
Their game against Fulham, which was originally scheduled for December 30, was postponed due to a COVID-19 outbreak at the west London club.
The Premier League needed to find a slot to fit in the game and have now decided to replace the Villa game with that.
How have Fulham reacted to this?
They are understood to be unhappy that the game is being moved at such short notice.
Manager Scott Parker was not aware that it was a possibility until after the 2-0 win against QPR in the FA Cup on Saturday.
He might have fielded a different team in that game, which went to extra-time, if so.
What about the Chelsea game?
The Athletic understands that as it stands, Fulham are still scheduled to play Chelsea on Friday, just two days after facing Spurs.
Meanwhile, Chelsea’s game against Leicester on Tuesday could be moved back a day to Wednesday.
What is the current COVID-19 situation in football?
Early last week, the Premier League announced a record 40 positive COVID-19 tests in the last two rounds of testing between December 28 and January 3.
There have been a number of outbreaks recently.
The most significant has been at Fulham, who have had two games postponed as a result.
Southampton's game against Shrewsbury Town was postponed in the FA Cup third round at the weekend, while Aston Villa and Derby both had to play academy kids in their games due to COVID-19 outbreaks.
Where can I find out more?
News of the Premier League’s late decision to reschedule was first revealed in David Ornstein’s weekly column, which you can read by Going Deeper below.