THIRD HAS HAD CALLED OFF Another weekend with no football for City
PREMIER LEAGUE MATCH IN A ROW THE CLUB
LEICESTER City have another weekend without football after their trip to Burnley was postponed – just over 24 hours before kick-off, writes Jordan Blackwell.
It is the third straight Premier League match the club has had called off, following the cancellation of fixtures with Norwich and Everton this month.
While a combination of injuries, Covid and the Africa Cup of Nations prompted City to request a postponement of their midweek clash at Goodison Park, this time it’s the opposition who are short of players.
To fulfil a fixture, clubs need 13 fit senior outfield players, plus one fit senior goalkeeper. Burnley only had 14 available outfield players when they suffered a shock home defeat to Championship side Huddersfield in the FA Cup last weekend.
They have since lost star striker and former City man Chris Wood to relegation rivals Newcastle in a £25 million deal.
In a statement, Burnley said: “The club submitted a postponement application which was approved by the Premier League Board due to a number of injuries and Covid-19 cases within the first-team squad.
“The club sends their apologies to both sets of supporters for the inconvenience this may have caused and a new date for the fixture will be confirmed in due course.”
City were ready to play what would have been their first Premier League game of 2022 against the Clarets, after a number of players returned from injury to allow them to prepare for the match, with Caglar Soyuncu, Luke Thomas and Patson Daka, right, among those now available.
Instead, their first Premier League match of the new year will take place against Tottenham at the King Power Stadium on Wednesday evening.