The Carabao Cup quarterfinal between Arsenal and Crystal Palace has been rescheduled for Tuesday, December 23, with kickoff at 8 p.m. at Emirates Stadium.
The match was originally planned for the week beginning December 15, but Crystal Palace’s participation in the UEFA Europa Conference League required a change. Coach Oliver Glasner’s team will play its final group stage match on December 18, which under the original plan would have resulted in four matches within eight days.
Both London teams face a demanding period before Christmas, as they also have league fixtures on Sunday, December 21. Arsenal will visit Everton, while Palace will travel to Leeds. The players will therefore have only one day of rest between matches.
The English Football League acknowledged the complexity of the situation and pointed out the congested schedule of European competitions, which makes it nearly impossible to avoid such conflicts.
Arsenal advanced to the quarterfinals after 2–0 victories over Port Vale and Brighton, while Crystal Palace first overcame Millwall after a penalty shootout and then surprisingly eliminated Liverpool with a 3–0 win.
The clubs have met five times before in the history of the League Cup. The first encounter was won by Palace in 1970, but Arsenal holds fonder memories after defeating their rivals in the 1993 semifinals and going on to win the trophy.
Last season the teams met at the same stage of the competition when a hat-trick by Gabriel Jesus sent Arsenal through. They have already faced each other this season in the Premier League, where the Gunners secured a narrow 1–0 away victory.
