Tottenham to face Fulham on Wednesday with Aston Villa game postponed

11 January 2021 04:07

Tottenham will now face Fulham in a rearranged Premier League fixture on Wednesday, with Spurs' game against Aston Villa postponed due to the COVID-19 outbreak among the Villans' squad.

Villa fielded a makeshift team of youngsters against Liverpool in the FA Cup on Friday night, but rules in England's top flight differ and they are now unable to fulfil the fixture due to the number of first-team players ruled out.

Both The Athletic and The Telegraph's Matt Law have reported the postponement, with Fulham stepping in to fill the void at 48 hours' notice.

The fixture between Tottenham and the Cottagers was due to be played on 30 December but was pushed back due to coronavirus issues in Scott Parker's squad. That game needed a new date and is now scheduled for Wednesday.

Reports say Fulham's game with Chelsea on Friday night will now be played at 5.30pm on Saturday instead. As a result, the Blues' game against Leicester next week could be pushed back to Wednesday instead of Tuesday.

Fulham are understood to be unhappy with the short notice of the rearrangement, having played 120 minutes in the FA Cup at the weekend in their extra-time 2-0 victory over Queens Park Rangers.

Villa's team against Liverpool was made up of youth players | Shaun Botterill/Getty Images

Parker was not aware of any potential rescheduling and could have fielded a different team against QPR had he been informed sooner.

The R rate in the United Kingdom has grown in recent months, with Newcastle manager Steve Bruce calling it 'morally wrong' to continue playing, and a record 40 positive COVID-19 tests were announced by the Premier League in the last two rounds of testing between 28 December and 3 January.

Villa boss Dean Smith and his squad have been isolating and their training centre has been closed due to the number of positive cases recorded at the club last week.


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Source: 90min