Tottenham’s postponed match against Fulham could be arranged for Wednesday in a reshuffle of Premier League matches affected by coronavirus cases.
There is continued uncertainty over Aston Villa’s ability to fulfil their home game against Spurs on Wednesday.
Villa boss Dean Smith and his first-team squad are isolating and their training ground has been closed after a number of positive tests at the club.
They used under-23 and under-18 players in Friday’s FA Cup loss to Liverpool.
However, it appears unlikely they will be asked to follow the same procedure in a Premier League game because it would affect the competitive balance of the competition.
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Postponing Villa’s game with Tottenham would leave EFL Cup finalists Spurs needing to rearrange three matches in a cramped fixture list that also includes Europa League commitments.
The matter is complicated further by the fact two of those games are against Fulham, who Spurs were due to meet at Craven Cottage in the last week of April, when the EFL Cup final is now due to take place. Fulham have a Premier League match against Manchester United scheduled for 20 January, the second week of this month’s split midweek programme. Villa are due to play at Manchester City that night.
It has left league chiefs scratching their heads about how to resolve the issue.
No decision has been made yet but one plan being discussed is for Fulham’s match against Tottenham, postponed at short notice on 30 December, to be played on Wednesday.
It was called off less than three hours before kick-off after Fulham reported a number of positive Covid-19 cases.
While there are clear issues for Fulham boss Scott Parker, whose side had to play extra time against QPR on Saturday and were expecting a free week, there is a feeling at the Premier League that clubs accepted at the start of the season some inconveniences would have to be overcome for the campaign to continue.
There is also the problem of Fulham having a Premier League game against Chelsea scheduled for this Friday, 15 January, although Premier League sources feel this can be resolved.
It is understood Fulham were not informed of this situation until after Saturday’s FA Cup victory against QPR.
Had Parker known, he might have altered his team selection for the game given Fulham’s training ground has just been reopened and many of his senior players had only just returned to full training.
