Tottenham Hotspur’s Premier League encounter at Aston Villa has been moved up two days to 16 May to prepare for the Europa League final.
Tottenham requested an early start to their match at Villa Park on 18 May at 14:15 BST from the Premier League to give Ange Postecoglou’s team more time to prepare if they reach the Europa League final on 21 May.
Thus, Tottenham lead Bodo/Glimt 3-1 in their semi-final and might face Manchester United, who lead Athletic Bilbao 3-0, in the final. Thursday is the second leg for both. Spurs’ encounter at Villa will remain on a different date even if Postecoglou’s team fails to reach the final in Bilbao.
Villa refused, arguing that the Premier League has never moved fixtures to accommodate European clubs.
Villa played every three or four days in April due to Champions League and FA Cup competitions. Another reason for the complaint was that Villa’s final home game of the season could include pre-organized family activation events that would not be available on a school night.
Tottenham requested the game be rescheduled to 15 May, but the Premier League said it will start at 19:30 BST on 16 May. United’s game against Chelsea on the same night will start at 20:15 BST, giving both probable Europa League finalists the same recuperation time.
