Manchester United have confirmed new fixture dates for Premier League clashes against Brighton & Hove Albion and West Ham United.
The Red Devils were initially supposed to take on Brighton on March 19, but the game was called off, with both sides playing in the FA Cup quarter-finals.
Roberto de Zerbi’s men won against Grimsby Town to set up a mouth-watering semi-final clash against United in the FA Cup.
United affirmed on the club’s official website, “Our Premier League clash at the Amex Stadium will now take place on Thursday, 4 May, with kick-off set for 20:00 BST. The encounter will be shown live in the UK via Sky Sports.”
“Furthermore, our clash with the Hammers that was set to be played on Saturday, 6 May, in the capital will take place a day later on Sunday, 7 May, with the action beginning at 19:00 BST and being screened live on BT Sport.”
“Meanwhile, our home fixture with Chelsea that was due to take place on Saturday, 22 April, has been postponed following our qualification for the next round of the Europa League.”
Premier League meetings against Wolverhampton Wanderers and Bournemouth are yet to be given definitive dates.
The Daily Mail says that the Premier League’s move to shift the games against the Seagulls and the Hammers has not gone down with a section of match-going supporters.
As per The Mail, “Supporters heading to the two games face travel chaos as there are no trains back to Manchester after the Brighton match, and the last one home from London after the West Ham clash is at 9:49 pm, meaning fans would have to leave early in order to catch it.”
This is the second time this season that Erik ten Hag’s Reds have been shifted to a Sunday 7 pm kick-off.
A spokesperson on behalf of the Manchester United Supporters Trust talked to the newspaper and expressed his disappointment at the re-arrangement, which in his opinion, did not consider the needs of fans.
In a statement released on Friday, the Premier League apologised to supporters for communicating late. The statement attributed the delay to complications brought about by the Coronation of His Majesty The King and Her Majesty The Queen Consort.
The two rescheduled games are set to add to Erik ten Hag’s already congested and hectic programme. Depending on where United will be in the cups at the time, even more, games could be played.
The Dutchman has worked miracles on a thin squad already stretched to its bare bones. That the Red Devils are still competing in all competitions even after the ridiculous number of matches played is a testament to the excellent work done by Ten Hag, his coaching staff and the players. They will need to dig even deeper as the season enters its business end after the international break.