Aston Villa have held discussions with the Premier League to voice their frustration over December’s fixture scheduling as they prepare for their second London away match in the space of four days while other teams have successive home games.
While there has been no formal complaint from Villa, the festive scheduling has been a bone of contention in recent months, with the club querying the matter.
Villa have questioned why they are playing Premier League leaders Arsenal on Tuesday, a side they faced at Villa Park on December 6, before they play Nottingham Forest, a team they are yet to face in the top flight this season. Unai Emery’s side instead host Forest on Saturday.
Villa’s director of football operations Damian Vidagany claimed he had not received a “clear explanation” for the scheduling. The Premier League is in regular contact with clubs over fixture organisation throughout the season.
The Premier League fixtures were scheduled in such a way to enable each club to have a home game on either gameweek 18 — the Christmas round of fixtures, which took place between December 26 and 28 — or gameweek 20 — the New Year round, scheduled for January 3 and 4.
Half of the Premier League are playing successive away games across gameweeks 18 and 19, which takes place between December 26 and January 1, with Villa joining Newcastle United, Manchester City, Fulham, Bournemouth, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Brighton and Hove Albion, Everton, Leeds United and Tottenham in doing so.
“Why the Premier League brings a match day from (the) second half of season before matchday 19 has not a clear explanation,” Vidagany said on X on Monday. “I asked to Premier League people and they didn’t tell us. So it is a mystery.
”The fact is that willing or not this makes more convenient the fixtures for certain clubs that are not travelling on this very busy Christmas period. I let you take a look which clubs are playing home both last and next match.
“To make us play two away games in less than 72 hours will be never an excuse but we agree that is much better on the recovery side play twice at home and not travel. We are not, for sure, as it is obvious, having any influence. It would be a disgrace if the fixtures become a political territory.”
Clubs playing the same side in quick succession has happened in previous seasons. All the matches in gameweek 15, when Villa first played Arsenal this season, are the reverse fixtures in gameweek 19, meaning all the top flight sides are facing the same opponent in the space of less than a month in December.
Emery also expressed his confusion over the scheduling but said his side must “accept” it.
“We must accept it, because it is not in our hands,“ the Villa manager told a pre-match press conference on Monday. ”The only thing I don’t understand is why we are playing after Arsenal, Nottingham Forest at home?
“The day 19 is not against Forest, which is the first half of the season. This is the only thing I don’t understand.
“The circumstances which are not in our hands, we must accept it and keep going.”
Villa are third in the Premier League, three points behind leaders Arsenal.