Aston Villa's request to move Liverpool fixture rejected by Premier League as Unai Emery's men forced to play five games in two weeks

Villa are suffering from a huge fixture pile-up with Emery's men still involved in the Champions League and FA Cup. Their upcoming run includes five games in two weeks, thanks to Liverpool reaching the Carabao Cup final. It means the Premier League have had to move their clash against the Midlands side forwards to Wednesday.

It is not surprising that Emery wanted to create a gap between matches in February as we approach the business end of the season, particularly with the Villans only scheduled to play in the top flight once next month. But the Premier League have refused to budge, leaving the club with no choice but to face their mammoth schedule head on, The Telegraph reports.

Villa are thriving in the Champions League and will compete in the last-16 in the first week of March. That fixture formed the basis of Emery's request to move the Liverpool game, as he looks to lead the club as deep as possible into the competition.

A home clash against Ipswich is first on the cards for Villa this weekend, before facing Liverpool on Wednesday. Then Chelsea come to town before fixtures against Crystal Palace and Cardiff before the end of the month.