The scheduled Premier League clash between Liverpool and Chelsea will be postponed due to the Queen’s state funeral, leaving a 17-day gap between games.
A state funeral will be held in London on September 19 following the Queen’s passing last week, with the landing date a day before Liverpool visits Stamford Bridge.
With an entire weekend of Premier League matches already postponed, questions remain as to whether any or all matches in the next round will also be changed.
But Rangers’ Champions League clash with Napoli has already been moved from Tuesday to Wednesday to accommodate the Queen’s procession through Scotland, and now Arsenal vs. PSV Eindhoven was completely postponed.
Arsenal were due to host PSV in the Europa League on Thursday night, but a joint statement on Monday confirmed the game would not take place.
UEFA has explained that this is due to “serious limitations in police resources” for the tie, and the decision was made after discussions with the two clubs and the Metropolitan Police.
So it stands to reason that Chelsea vs. Liverpool will be among the next games in London to be cancelled, perhaps along with others across the country such as Man United vs. Leeds, due to a police shortage.
There remains a slim chance that the match will change, with Liverpool becoming the home team and the reverse January game at Stamford Bridge.
But that is not expected to be the case.
With the Reds’ trip to west London likely to be postponed, Jurgen Klopp’s side face a 17-day gap between their Champions League tie with Ajax on Tuesday and their next home game against Brighton on 1 January. october.
In addition, new dates will need to be found for the Wolves and Chelsea fixtures, with the next available slots on the calendar coming in January and February.
It’s a chaotic situation that could at least have been avoided over the weekend that just ended, with the match roster that could have taken place with pre-match tributes to the Queen.
That will be the case when Liverpool host Ajax on Tuesday, as Klopp confirmed in his pre-match press conference.
“I think it’s the right thing to do, but I don’t think our people need any kind of advice from me on how to show respect,” he told reporters.
“There are many examples where people showed exactly the right respect.
“One that surprised me, and I was very proud of that moment, was last year when we played against Man United about the very sad situation of Cristiano Ronaldo’s family.
“That is what I expect. For me, it is clear that this is what we have to do. That is all.”
