Wednesday 13 March 2013

Chelsea versus Manchester United FA Cup replay set for Easter Monday

• Chelsea's game with Southampton rearranged again
• Southampton 'extremely disappointed' by decision

Chelsea and Manchester United's FA Cup quarter-final replay will take place on Easter Monday at 12.30pm, the Football Association has announced, with the two sides scheduled to play Premier League fixtures less than 48 hours earlier.

The decision means Chelsea's Premier League fixture with Southampton, which had been due to take place on Easter Sunday, will now take place a day earlier and with a 3pm kick-off.

Finding a suitable date for the fixture proved challenging due to Chelsea's involvement in the Europa League and the confirmed FA Cup semi-final dates of 13 and 14 April.

It had been expected the FA would wait to see if Chelsea advance in the Europa League on Thursday before determining a date, with the club needing to overturn a 1-0 first-leg deficit to the Romanians.

The rescheduling means Chelsea and Manchester United, who visit Sunderland on 30 March, play their Premier League matches on the same day, but has irked Southampton.

A statement on Southampton's official website read: "The game had already been moved once for the purposes of live Sky TV coverage – to Sunday, 31 March – however, the Premier League have deemed it acceptable to move the fixture once more.

"The club is extremely disappointed that this decision has been taken; not least because of the significant inconvenience a second change to the fixture will cause our supporters."

Chelsea's coming fixtures

14 March (h) v Steaua Bucharest (Europa League)

17 March (h) v West Ham (Premier League)

18-27 March International break

30 March (a) v Southampton (Premier League)

1 April (h) v Manchester United (FA Cup quarter-final replay)

4 April (TBC) Europa League quarter-final first leg

6/7 April (h) v Sunderland (Premier League)

11 April (TBC) Europa League quarter-final second leg

13, 14 April FA Cup semi-final weekend


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