The draw for the FA Cup semi-finals has been completed and it could spell disaster for one club fighting for their Premier League survival.
On Sunday night, Leeds United became the final team to book their spot in the FA Cup semi-finals as they beat West Ham United at the London Stadium.
After a dramatic 90 minutes that saw West Ham United score twice in the final 10 minutes of the game to equalise, it was the visitors that progressed after winning a penalty shootout 4-2.
They join Manchester City, Chelsea and Southampton, who picked up a massive surprise win over Arsenal, in the semi-finals, which are set to take place later in April.
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Immediately after the match in London, the draw for the semi-final matches took place, with Ally McCoist pulling out the numbers.
FA Cup semi-final draw and impact on the Premier League schedule
The first match confirmed in the draw was Chelsea v Leeds United, meaning that Manchester City will play Southampton in the other semi-final
Both games are set to be played at Wembley on the weekend of Saturday 25 and Sunday 26 April.
While the four FA Cup semi-finalists are competing at Wembley, the remainder of the English football pyramid will be competing in their respective
This means that each of the Premier League teams remaining in the FA Cup, and their scheduled opponents in gameweek 34, will have their fixtures postpone, potentially having a major impact on their season.
Bournemouth v Leeds united will be moved from April 25, while both Burnley v Man City and Brighton v Chelsea will be moved from April 26.
Instead, these rescheduled fixtures will take place between Tuesday 21 and Thursday 23 April, meaning the six impacted teams will have to play midweek following their regularly scheduled Premier League games the prior.
For Leeds, this is particularly impactful as they fight for survival in the Premier League in a fierce relegation battle at the bottom of the table.
The new schedule will see Leeds have just days to prepare for their trip to the Vitality Stadium having hosted Wolverhampton Wanderers at Elland Road on Saturday, April 18.
However, the revised schedule will no doubt frustrate Manchester City and Chelsea fans who also have much to play for in the final weeks of the Premier League season, going for the title and a spot in next season's Champions League respectively.
But with much deeper squads, it is almost certain that Pep Guardiola and Liam Rosenior will be able to manage the quick turnarounds much better than their fellow Premier League sides.
As for Southampton, their Championship clash with Blackburn Rovers at St Mary's Stadium has been moved to Tuesday, April 14, at 8pm, having originally been set for Saturday, April 25.
Topics: FA Cup, Football, Leeds United, Premier League, Southampton, Manchester City, Chelsea
Ben McCrum