Should Liverpool progress in the FA Cup and Europa League then just two midweek spots might be available for a rearranged Merseyside derby, including the final week of the campaign
Everton and Liverpool could be set for a showdown in the final week of the season.
The Premier League this week announced the Merseyside derby is set to be held at Goodison Park on Sunday, March 17. The switch, from the day before, means the game is currently due to take place on a busy day in the city as it coincides with both St Patrick’s Day celebrations and the Liverpool Half Marathon.
Any preparations to manage the huge crowds set to enjoy those occasions may well be irrelevant, however. The game is subject to Liverpool’s progress in the FA Cup and, should the Reds win a fifth round tie that is guaranteed to be against Championship opposition, the quarter-final will take precedence – leading the derby to be rearranged.
If Liverpool were to progress to the semi-finals of the Europa League then it would leave only two midweeks available for the derby – one of which is currently the final week of a campaign in which both clubs could be fighting for results.
Liverpool will learn their FA Cup fifth round opposition tonight as Southampton host Watford in a fourth round replay. The winner will then travel to Anfield for a game in which the current top flight leaders will be heavy favourites. Should Liverpool win that match then it would lead to league organisers searching for a new date for the derby.
That would not be an easy task. There are nine midweeks between the current derby and the end of the league season on May 19. The first two are taken up with the March international break, in which fixtures will include England friendlies with Brazil and Belgium.
The following midweek, during the first week of April, will see Everton travel to Newcastle United and Liverpool host Sheffield United in the league.
Of the following six midweeks, four are taken up by Europa League quarter and then semi-finals, meaning that qualification through to the last four would leave available just one midweek spot towards the end of April, perhaps Tuesday 23 or Wednesday 24, and then the final week of the season. Should Liverpool reach the FA Cup semi-finals it would require their match at Fulham on April 20 to be rescheduled, leaving two Premier League matches competing for those two slots.
Midweek congestion after the current Merseyside derby date
Scheduled derby date: Sunday, March 17
Midweek 1: International break
Midweek 2: International break
Midweek 3: (Weds, April 3) Liverpool v Sheffield United; Newcastle v Everton
Midweek 4: (Thurs, April 11) Europa League QF, first leg
Midweek 5: (Thurs, April 18) Europa League QF, second leg
Midweek 6: Potential free date for derby (or Fulham v Liverpool should Liverpool reach FA Cup SF)
Midweek 7: (Thurs, May 2) Europa League SF, first leg
Midweek 8: (Thurs, May 9) Europa League SF, second leg
Midweek 9: Potential free date
End of Season: May 19
The calendar opens up should Liverpool fail to reach the last four of the Europa League, but it is a competition they are major favourites for with the bookmakers and it will have added meaning with it set to be the last piece of European silverware Jurgen Klopp could win before he leaves his post at the end of the campaign. Liverpool will be hopeful of being in the title race to the final game while Everton may not even have clarity over their situation even if the derby takes place in the last week.
The Blues have taken their survival battles to the final week of the last two seasons and the 10 point deduction for a breach of profit and sustainability rules means a club that has earned enough points to be comfortably in mid-table is currently in the bottom three. It is waiting to see whether a challenge to the severity of that punishment yields success which they hope might strengthen the position in the league table and in their defence of a second alleged breach, set to be heard in a case that may not be concluded until days after the final match of the season.
