Tottenham relegation fight twist as new date set for Aston Villa trip | OneFootball

Tough trip to Villa Park has been pushed back to after West Ham play Brentford

Tottenham’s Premier League clash with Aston Villa will be rescheduled after the Midlands club progressed to the Europa League semi-finals.

The fixture will now take place at 7pm on Sunday, May 3, after Villa beat Bologna 7-1 on aggregate, following a 4-0 win at Villa Park on Thursday night.

Spurs are in the midst of a relegation battle, and with six games to go, find themselves two points from safety.

The fixture change means Spurs will now play after key relegation rival West Ham travel to Brentford, but still before Nottingham Forest take on Chelsea.

Roberto De Zerbi’s appointment as manager did not provide an immediate reaction, as Spurs fell to a 1-0 defeat at Sunderland in his first game in charge.

They host Brighton this weekend, still looking for their first league win of the calendar year, before a trip to bottom-of-the-table Wolves next Saturday.

De Zerbi’s side is in desperate need of results and will travel to Champions League-chasing Villa on the first weekend of May, with their Premier League survival in the balance.

Villa, meanwhile, are in a strong position to qualify for next season’s Champions League despite their recent faltering form.

Despite winning just one of their last six league games, Villa remain seven points ahead of sixth-place Chelsea and three points ahead of Liverpool in fifth.

Villa are also favourites to progress to the Europa League final, but will first navigate an all-Premier League semi-final against Nottingham Forest.

The Premier League’s decision to move the fixture is expected to cause major disruption for travelling fans, and Tottenham Hotspur Supporters’ Trust have criticised the Premier League and broadcasters for their lack of consideration.

“Once again the Premier League and TNT Sports have shown contempt for supporters,” THST told Standard Sport.

“By scheduling this match at 12.30pm on Saturday, with the[n the] move to Sunday at 7pm, supporters face tremendous difficulty planning travel to and from the match. Supporters working on Monday morning face potentially travelling for hours late on Sunday night.

“The issue (of European progress) was known when this match was moved to an early KO on Saturday, and there is no reason why it could not have been immediately scheduled for Sunday night, allowing supporters to make an informed decision before applying for tickets.

“We call on all football leagues and TV companies to have far more consideration for match going fans than they have proved themselves capable of so far.”