Chelsea v Liverpool was one of 13 Premier League matches postponed following the death of Queen Elizabeth II in the UK.
The heavyweight clash at Stamford Bridge was set to be the showpiece encounter in Week 8 of the 2022/23 season, with the game initially set to be played on Sunday September 11.
Chelsea and Liverpool also had their Week 7 games postponed after the Premier League opted to scrap the entire 10-game list as a mark of respect to the Queen. Fulham against Chelsea and Liverpool against Wolves will also have to be compensated accordingly.
But pushing the Chelsea-Liverpool game on September 18 was not a token gesture. The match simply could not take place.
MORE: A list of all sporting events postponed after the death of Queen Elizabeth II
Chelsea vs Liverpool canceled by the Premier League
Due to police personnel requirements for the Queen’s funeral on Monday September 19, the Chelsea v Liverpool match has been officially postponed by the Premier League. in a press release published on September 12.
“After extensive consultation with clubs, police, local safety advisory groups and other relevant authorities, there was no choice but to postpone the remaining three matches in this round of play,” Chelsea said in their own statement.
Sunday’s match between Chelsea and Liverpool at Stamford Bridge has been postponed, the Premier League has confirmed. ⤵️
– Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) September 12, 2022
The other two Matchweek 8 matches that were postponed were Manchester United v Leeds and Brighton v Crystal Palace, although the latter has already been canceled due to a planned rail strike.
Surprisingly, two more Premier League matches in London will take place, as Tottenham v Leicester City and Brentford v Arsenal have been given the go-ahead.
Matches in London were believed to be most at risk of being postponed as the city’s police force are exhausted for the Queen’s funeral.
When is Chelsea vs Liverpool?
New dates for the postponed matches were not immediately available.
The Premier League could face significant difficulties in rescheduling the 13 postponed matches, including the two exceptional fixtures involving Chelsea and Liverpool, due to an already very congested football schedule.
The month-plus break due to the 2022 World Cup being staged for the first time from November to December has led to a more condensed club schedule.
Liverpool and Chelsea now have two Premier League fixtures to catch up with and few open slots on the calendar, not least due to both teams’ participation in domestic and European cup competitions.
Here are the only available midweek dates at the moment, all in 2023:
- 17-19 January (if no FA Cup 3rd round replay is needed)
- 7-9 February (if no FA Cup 4th round replay is needed)
- April 4-6
- May 2-4
- May 23-25 (unlikely given that the last day of the season is May 28)
If neither team qualifies for the Carabao Cup semi-finals, it would open two weeks in late January (January 24-26) and early February (January 31-February 2).
However, further complications could arise should both teams qualify for the Carabao Cup final or deep into the FA Cup competition (quarter-finals and semi-finals). These fixtures clash with Premier League match weeks, leading to further postponements of league fixtures.
Last season, Liverpool and Chelsea qualified for the Carabao Cup final and the FA Cup final, meeting in two matches that ended in penalties, with Liverpool winning both trophies.
And even if Chelsea and Liverpool are eliminated early in the round of 16 of the European Cup competition, the Premier League generally avoids scheduling games that conflict with the European calendar given an existing agreement with UEFA which would see the league fined for scheduling confrontational fixtures. .
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