Villa lodges formal complaint over Arsenal clash scheduling in Premier League drama
29 December 2025
Background
Aston Villa has filed a formal complaint with the Premier League over a schedule that sent them away for a crucial match against Arsenal on Tuesday night.
Sitting third, the Villans find the "reverse round" perplexing, since Nottingham Forest awaits them on Saturday and they have not yet faced that opponent this season.
Although a few teams are affected, Villa, enjoying strong form, voiced particular frustration about a second consecutive away game after their 2-1 win at Chelsea in London last weekend.
Villa’s stance
Villa’s football operations chief Damian Vidagani told The Sun that the league arranged the second-half slate before Christmas without a clear rationale.
He said he asked for an explanation but received none, calling the situation a mystery to the club.
He argued the arrangement benefits teams that avoid travel during the busy festive period and pointed to others set to play back-to-back home fixtures in recent and upcoming rounds.
He warned that two away games within 72 hours will not be used as an excuse, but playing twice at home would aid recovery.
He concluded that it would be disappointing if fixture lists were driven by political calculations.
Context
Arsenal and Liverpool are scheduled for back-to-back home games in this window, while Manchester City must travel away.
Punchline 1: If calendars could talk, this one would bite you on the travel day.
Punchline 2: And for fans, the fastest thing here is the pace of the fixture list—beat you to the next away trip with a stopwatch.
