Why are there no Premier League matches this weekend? | OneFootball

Top-flight football still not back despite the end of the international break as FA Cup quarter-finals take centre stage

The end of a long international break usually heralds the welcome return of Premier League football, but that is not the case this weekend.

Instead the FA Cup once again takes centre stage this weekend, with an intriguing last eight containing four clubs that have never previously won a major trophy.

The last remaining Championship club standing, Preston, host Aston Villa at Deepdale on Sunday before the Wembley semi-final lineup will be completed when Manchester City travel to face Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium.

Why are there no Premier League matches this weekend?

It’s all to do with the six-year agreement reached between the Premier League and Football Association (FA) last April, one that was hugely controversial at the time for confirming the scrapping of FA Cup replays from the first round onwards from this season.

Part of that deal involved the FA Cup staging the fourth and fifth rounds and quarter-finals on clear weekends with no Premier League matches competing for attention, though the EFL schedule continues with the Championship back from Friday night.

They also agreed to ensure that all FA Cup rounds were played at weekends, with the fifth round having previously been contested in midweek.

The FA Cup final is also clear of the Premier League, having been moved to the penultimate weekend of the top-flight season on Saturday, May 17 with no other games to be scheduled for that day.