Manager Oliver Glasner says it would be "irresponsible" for Crystal Palace to play two games in three days following a fixture pile-up after reaching the EFL Cup quarter-finals. The Eagles are due to host Manchester City on Sunday, 14 December, KuPS in the Conference League on Thursday, 18 December, and visit Leeds United on Sunday, 21 December. Arsenal, their last-eight opponents in the EFL Cup, want their tie played on Tuesday, 16 December. If Palace are told to play on that date, it will mean three games in five days, four in eight, or five in 11.

"I can't believe this won't be fixed," said Eagles boss Glasner. "It would be irresponsible for the players and we have a responsibility for them and we have to look after their welfare, but not just ours at the club.

"I was really upset when I heard it for the first time yesterday. I couldn't even believe that they were considering this." Uefa's European calendar now stretches across 10 midweeks, rather than the six as it did two seasons ago, with the Champions League, Europa League and Conference League each given a standalone week for exposure. It has caused a huge logistical headache, with the third round of the EFL Cup having to be seeded and played across two weeks to keep clubs in the Champions League and Europa League apart. That was a pretty straightforward fix, but with the Conference League held on consecutive weeks in December, and the final round of games muscling into the regular slot for the EFL Cup quarter-finals, it was a matter of when, not if, a Premier League club had to play two competitions at the same time.

There was a narrow escape last season, with Chelsea losing at Newcastle United in the fourth round. This time, the EFL has an issue. There's precedent for playing two games in one midweek in recent seasons, involving Liverpool, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur, but it's not exactly putting player welfare front and centre. In July, player representatives and Fifa agreed there should be a minimum rest period of 72 hours between matches.

"I'm really upset but I spoke about this issue three months ago when I looked at the schedule, in the summer, the off-season," added Glasner. "There are people who work on this and I would really like it if they talked together.

"We have international games, the two cups and the Premier League. It would be nice if Uefa, the Premier League and the FA talked together because it's so surprising. Maybe now you can't find a solution, but we need to get it sorted. It would be irresponsible playing Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday.

"But there is a solution because the week after, on the 21st [of December] we play Leeds and then we play on the 27th. There was a big discussion as to why there are no Boxing Day [matches]. Again, they fixed these games without talking to anyone. It would be nice if they all talked together, this is their job, what they get paid for."

Even if Palace can successfully argue against playing on 16 December, which remains the most likely date, there's no solution to please everyone. Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta admitted on Friday: "Every decision that we make in terms of a fixture has to be guided on two main things I think - player welfare and then supporters, that's it." Picking Tuesday, 23 December, will mean both Arsenal and Palace only get 48 hours after their Premier League games on the previous Sunday, with the Gunners at Everton and Palace visiting Leeds. Arsenal may well feel that they shouldn't have to give up their week off due to a situation which isn't of their making. Palace will say it's the fairest outcome, as both clubs will go into the cup tie facing the same problem of short-term fatigue. Christmas Eve - Wednesday, 24 December - has also been mooted, but with London's transport system beginning to close down after 7pm it would be impossible to play an evening game with 60,000 fans at the Emirates. And that means playing during the afternoon, which is technically a working day, and it would probably have to kick off by 4pm at the latest. It's not a solution that in any way caters for supporters. Wolves and Chelsea were forced to play on Christmas Eve in 2023 - the first time a top-flight game had been scheduled on that day for 28 years. It caused huge controversy, but at least it was on a Sunday with a 1pm kick-off. Someone is going to be affected whichever day is chosen, be it players or fans.