Everton forced to move EFL Cup tie at short notice

Everton have been forced to move their Carabao Cup third-round match against Wolves - just nine days before it was due to be played.

The last-32 fixture was scheduled for Wednesday, 9 September but will now take place seven days later.

The 9 September date was initially agreed to avoid a clash with a Liverpool home tie in the same competition, as the Reds' cup fixture with Tottenham was scheduled for 16 September after being chosen for a Sky Sports broadcast slot.

Because Wolves have Championship games on 13 and 20 September, but Everton are in Premier League action on 12 and 19, the EFL decided to move the cup game between the teams to the week before, as the most convenient date.

However, when Uefa released its Champions League fixtures line-up on Saturday, it was confirmed that Liverpool will start their European campaign against Atletico Madrid at Anfield on 9 September, while their cup game with Spurs has been moved to 15 September.

Merseyside Police does not allow both Liverpool and Everton to play at home on the same night.

European football's governing body Uefa said it was "not possible to make changes" to the Champions League tie because "the potential conflict only became apparent after the publication of the fixture lists".

Although the EFL appealed to Uefa to change the Liverpool-Atletico game date, European fixtures take precedence and the request was rejected.

The move means Everton's game with Wolves will now be played on Wednesday, 16 September, with Liverpool's Carabao Cup tie against Spurs brought forward by a day to Tuesday, 15 September.

A further knock-on effect is that Wolves' Championship game against Portsmouth must now be played after the first international break, on 20 October, rather than in September.

The EFL has apologised for making the changes at short notice but says it has been left with "no option", adding that Uefa's "unwillingness to co-operate" is "frustrating".

Uefa's expansion of its club competitions at one point seemed as though it would spell the end of two-legged EFL Cup semi-finals.

That has not happened, but there has still been a notable impact. Because the Champions League and Europa League start on different nights in September, an EFL Cup pre-draw now has to take place to ensure the clubs involved are not drawn against each other.

Uefa said it "does its best to accommodate reasonable requests wherever possible".

However, it added: "In this case, no issue had been raised with Uefa during the scheduling process, and the potential conflict only became apparent after the publication of the fixture lists.

"At that stage, it was not possible to make changes, particularly given the significant number of supporters who may already have arranged international travel and accommodation."