Chelsea & Man City may face FA Cup & Champions League fixture pile-up

What’s happening with the 2019-20 FA Cup?

When football in England was suspended on March 13 due to the Covid-19 crisis, the FA Cup was at the quarter-final stage.

The matchups in the final-8 are:

– Leicester City vs Chelsea
– Newcastle vs Manchester City
– Sheffield United vs Arsenal
– Norwich vs Manchester United

 

Provisional plans to complete the 2019-20 FA Cup

In the Mail on Sunday, the FA’s plans to complete this season’s competition are revealed.

Crucially, the FA plan to stage the remaining seven matches in the FA Cup at Wembley.

All matches are to be played behind closed doors.

As for the dates of the competition, the Mail on Sunday note the provisional schedule for the final:

The FA Cup Final has been pencilled in for Saturday, August 8, though a midweek date of August 5 is also under consideration, but it is still expected to be the final game of the season as part of the Premier League’s Project Restart.

For the record, the Mail on Sunday fail to detail when the quarter-finals and semi-finals may be played.

 

Chelsea & Man City: Possible FA Cup & Champions League schedule problems

However, the provisional dates for the FA Cup final could pose a significant problem for Chelsea and Man City, who are both still in this season’s Champions League.

Chelsea need to travel to Germany for the second leg against Bayern.

Bayern are in total control of the tie after a 3-0 win at Stamford Bridge.

The Bayern Munich vs Chelsea match is scheduled for August 8, which would obviously pose a major problem if Chelsea reach the FA Cup final.

Similarly, Man City are set to complete their last-16 Champions League tie against Real Madrid on August 7.

Man City won the first leg in Madrid 2-1.

 

Champions League provisional fixture dates

August 7, 2020

Juventus – Olympique Lyon
Manchester City – Real Madrid

August 8, 2020

Bayern Munich – Chelsea
FC Barcelona – Naples

August 11-12, 2020

Quarter-final, 1st legs

August 14-15, 2020

Quarter-final, 2nd legs

August 18-19, 2020

Semi-final, 1st legs

August 21-22, 2020

Semi-final, 2nd legs

August 29, 2020

Final (Istanbul)

 

Note: FA set to lose £100m during Covid-19 crisis

Should the FA scrap this season’s FA Cup?

The Mail on Sunday reveal why that option isn’t being considered right now, reporting:

The Premier League is mindful of the FA’s acute financial situation, with the cancellation of Euro 2020 and all summer events at Wembley, which make finishing the FA Cup this season crucial if the governing body is to stem some of its huge financial losses due to the coronavirus shutdown.

FA chief executive Mark Bullingham has already said that the national governing body will lose more than £100million due to coronavirus and cutbacks could be made to grass roots programmes.

 

Also see: Best Netflix, Amazon & YouTube football documentaries & movies to watch during coronavirus isolation

9 best football documentaries to watch on ESPN+ during COVID-19 quarantine

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