Arsenal and Crystal Palace have had their Premier League matches originally scheduled for December 21 moved forward to Saturday December 20 at 20:00, with both games live on Sky Sports. The change was made because Arsenal and Palace face each other in a Carabao Cup quarter-final on December 23, just 48 hours after the fixtures as first arranged.
Both clubs had been due to travel on December 21 — Arsenal to Everton and Palace to Leeds — but the Cup tie being played on a different midweek to the other quarter-finals (the remainder are during the week commencing December 15) created tight turnarounds. Palace’s quarter-final was set for December 23 because they play in the UEFA Conference League on Thursday December 18, which would otherwise force them into three matches in five days.
After concerns voiced by managers Mikel Arteta and Oliver Glasner about player recovery and welfare, the Premier League agreed to requests from Arsenal and Crystal Palace to move the two league fixtures. The League said player welfare is a priority and noted the impact of expanded UEFA competitions on the domestic calendar, thanking Leeds United and Everton for accommodating the changes.
Palace will still play twice in three days: they host KuPS in the Conference League on December 18 and then travel to Leeds on December 20. Palace boss Oliver Glasner asked UEFA to move the KuPS match to Wednesday (when there are no Champions League or Europa League midweek fixtures), but Sky Sports News understands UEFA rejected that request. The other Conference League group-stage fixtures in the final round are all scheduled to kick off simultaneously.
Updated festive fixtures
Arsenal
December 13: Wolves (H), Premier League — kick-off 20:00, live on Sky Sports
December 20: Everton (A), Premier League — kick-off 20:00, live on Sky Sports
December 23: Crystal Palace (H), Carabao Cup quarter-final — kick-off 20:00, live on Sky Sports
December 27: Brighton (H), Premier League — kick-off 15:00
December 30: Aston Villa (H), Premier League — kick-off 20:15, live on Sky Sports
January 3: Bournemouth (A), Premier League — kick-off 17:30, live on Sky Sports
January 8: Liverpool (H), Premier League — kick-off 20:00, live on Sky Sports
Crystal Palace
December 14: Manchester City (H), Premier League — kick-off 14:00, live on Sky Sports
December 18: KuPS (H), UEFA Conference League — kick-off 20:00
December 20: Leeds (A), Premier League — kick-off 20:00, live on Sky Sports
December 23: Arsenal (A), Carabao Cup quarter-final — kick-off 20:00, live on Sky Sports
December 28: Tottenham (H), Premier League — kick-off 16:30, live on Sky Sports
January 1: Fulham (H), Premier League — kick-off 17:30, live on Sky Sports
January 4: Newcastle (A), Premier League — kick-off 15:00
January 7: Aston Villa (H), Premier League — kick-off 19:30, live on Sky Sports
If there are further fixture changes they will be confirmed by the clubs and the Premier League in due course.