Manchester United were scheduled to have 42 hours and 15 minutes more recovery time than Tottenham if both English clubs make it to the Europa League final on May 21
The Premier League have moved Tottenham's clash with Aston Villa forward by two days to give them more time to recover ahead of a potential Europa League final against Manchester United. Spurs were originally scheduled to travel to Villa Park at 2:15pm on Sunday May 18.
Meanwhile, United had been scheduled to play Chelsea away at 8pm on Friday May 16. Should both English clubs successfully navigate the second legs of their semi-final ties, United would've had 42 hours and 15 minutes more rest time compared to Spurs.
Tottenham released a statement on Sunday morning confirming that they were in 'discussions with the Premier League regarding a change in date to our away Premier League match against Aston Villa, currently scheduled for Sunday May 18'. Now the change has been confirmed.
Spurs will instead face Villa at 7:30pm on the Friday. United's clash with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge has subsequently been given a new kick-off time of 8:15pm, with both matches to be shown on Sky Sports.
The reason why United and Chelsea were originally moved to play in Friday's fixture slot is because both clubs are involved in the Women's FA Cup final at Wembley on the Sunday. United's men are firm favourites to reach the Europa League final after taking a commanding 3-0 lead from the first leg of their semi-final tie away to Athletic Bilbao last Thursday.
As for Tottenham, it's less straightforward. Ange Postecoglou's side lead Norwegian minnows Bodo/Glimt 3-1 on aggregate but must travel to the Arctic circle for a tricky-looking second leg this Thursday.
There's added pressure because of the fixture change, with the Premier League clearly anticipating an all-English final in Bilbao on Wednesday May 21. Postecoglou was asked about the potential disparity in recovery time ahead of Sunday's 1-1 draw at West Ham.
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"I haven't looked too deeply into it, I don't know what sort of precedence there is to it," the Spurs boss replied. "I know other leagues do it, which you kind of understand for a European final. I'll leave that to the powers that be and I'll concentrate on trying to get us there first of all."
Postecoglou added: " Bodo are there on merit. They beat Lazio, Olympiakos; they're tough teams. I'm from the other side of the world. It doesn't matter where you're from. We're going to treat them with the respect they deserve and give our best.
"Missing Patrick Berg is a loss for them but I think it's always been more about what they do as a team rather than individuals. They've sold a lot of players over the past five years but they've kept doing well."