Aston Villa hit out at Premier League over fixture list 'mystery' that sees them travel to Arsenal just three days after playing Chelsea away

Aston Villa's director of football, Damian Vidagany, has publicly criticized the Premier League's fixture scheduling, which requires his club to play two away matches within a four-day period. Villa played away at Chelsea and are set to face Arsenal away, while not having played Nottingham Forest at home yet.

Vidagany expressed confusion and frustration over the league's decision to schedule a match from the second half of the season before completing matchday 19, stating he received no clear explanation from Premier League officials. He suggested this scheduling quirk disproportionately benefits certain clubs by allowing them to play two consecutive home games during the busy festive period, thus avoiding travel and aiding player recovery.

He specifically pointed out that clubs like Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, and Manchester United have had two home games in this same timeframe. While emphasizing that Villa would not use the schedule as an excuse, Vidagany argued it is objectively easier to recover playing at home twice instead of traveling for two away games. He concluded by stating Villa has no influence over the fixtures and warned it would be a "disgrace" if fixture scheduling became a "political territory."