Why is Vitoria SC vs Arsenal Europa League match taking place on Wednesday night? Europa League matches are generally scheduled for Thursday and Friday.
After a poor couple of weeks in the Premier League, Arsenal will look for solace in the Premier League. The North London side have won all their 3 matches in Europe’s secondary competition so far and will look to extend their winning run.
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This week will be a reverse of Arsenal’s previous encounter with a spirited Vitoria SC side. The Portuguese side surprised Unai Emery and his men by taking a 2-goal lead. Gabriel Martinelli reduced the lead to 1 before Nicolas Pepe’s heroics won the match for Arsenal in the very last minute.
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Unai Emery will be hoping to endure a much easier match this time around. Vitoria SC on the other hand, will look to use the home advantage and support of their fans to hand Arsenal their first defeat and register their first win in the competition.
However, despite all Europa League competitions generally taking place on Thursday or Friday, their clash at Estadio D. Afonso Henriques in Guimaraes, Portugal will take place on Wednesday instead; a day usually reserved for Champions League clashes.
Why is Vitoria SC vs Arsenal Europa League match taking place on Wednesday night?
The reason behind UEFA’s decision to move Vitoria SC vs Arsenal to Wednesday is because Vitoria’s Primeira Liga rivals Sporting Braga are also hosting their game against Beskitas in the Europa league on Thursday. UEFA rules stipulate that two teams from the same region cannot play their home games on the same date.
The decision intends to relieve the workload on local authorities. It will also prevent fans from too many different teams descending on the same area and stop busy traffic with both clubs being just a 24-minute drive apart. Apart from being played on an unusual day, the match will also start at a different time.
Europa League games are usually played at either 5.55pm (GMT) or 8pm (GMT). However, in an attempt to avoid broadcasting clashes with Champions League games taking place on the same day, Vitoria SC vs Arsenal has been moved to a 3.50pm (GMT).
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