Everton's Carabao Cup third-round tie against Wolves was confirmed at 5:30pm on Friday, August 28 for 7:45pm on Wednesday, September 9. UEFA then announced Liverpool v Atletico Madrid for the same date, leaving only 15 minutes between the two home fixtures.
The EFL's response
The EFL said it had "no option" after UEFA's Champions League schedule was published. In its statement, the league said: "The EFL has been left with no option than to rearrange a number of its fixtures following the announcement of fixture details for the league phase of the UEFA Champions League."
It also said: "On Saturday, UEFA announced that it had scheduled Liverpool v Atletico Madrid for the same date, despite it being clear that Everton and Liverpool cannot play home fixtures on the same evening."
That left the league to move three games. Everton's tie against Wolves was pushed back seven days to Wednesday, September 16 at 7:45pm and will be shown on Sky Sports Plus. Liverpool's Carabao Cup third-round tie against Tottenham Hotspur was moved from Wednesday, September 16 to Tuesday, September 15, while Wolves' Championship home game against Portsmouth was moved from Wednesday, September 16 to Tuesday, October 20.
Three fixtures, one collision
The EFL also said it met UEFA officials on Monday morning to explore options, but was told they were unwilling to consider rescheduling Liverpool v Atletico Madrid and avoiding the knock-on effects. It finished by saying: "Disappointingly, the League has therefore been forced to make changes to the following three fixtures: Everton v Wolverhampton Wanderers; Liverpool v Tottenham Hotspur; Wolverhampton Wanderers v Portsmouth."
The dispute is straightforward enough. UEFA's date choice created a home-game clash in Liverpool, and the EFL has now had to reorganise the Cup and Championship schedule around it.
Everton, Liverpool and Wolves all come out of it with a change to absorb before September's fixtures are played.
Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 1 outlet. How we work →
