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The usual weekend rhythm of English top-flight football is broken this week as the Premier League pauses while the FA Cup takes centre stage. Fans who expect Saturday and Sunday fixtures will notice a gap in the league calendar, but there is still plenty of high-stakes football to follow across the FA Cup fifth round and the upcoming matchweek.
Why there are no Premier League matches this weekend
The Premier League is absent from the usual weekend lineup because the FA Cup fifth round occupies the March 7-8 slot. To make space, the league shifted matchweek 29 into midweek fixtures earlier in March.
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This scheduling swap ensures the knockout competition gets prime weekend coverage. The result: fewer league games this weekend and a full slate of cup ties across two days.
FA Cup fifth-round fixtures and kickoff times
Below are the FA Cup fifth-round matchups, with league tags and kickoff times in both GMT and ET. Leagues are shown in brackets.
PL = Premier League, CH = EFL Championship, L1 = League One
- Wolves (PL) vs Liverpool (PL) — Fri, Mar 6 — 20:00 GMT / 15:00 ET
- Mansfield Town (L1) vs Arsenal (PL) — Sat, Mar 7 — 12:15 GMT / 07:15 ET
- Wrexham (CH) vs Chelsea (PL) — Sat, Mar 7 — 17:45 GMT / 12:45 ET
- Newcastle (PL) vs Manchester City (PL) — Sat, Mar 7 — 20:00 GMT / 15:00 ET
- Fulham (PL) vs Southampton (CH) — Sun, Mar 8 — 12:00 GMT / 07:00 ET
- Port Vale (L1) vs Sunderland (PL) — Sun, Mar 8 — 13:30 GMT / 08:30 ET
- Leeds United (PL) vs Norwich City (CH) — Sun, Mar 8 — 16:30 GMT / 11:30 ET
- West Ham (PL) vs Brentford (PL) — Mon, Mar 9 — 19:30 GMT / 14:30 ET
Standout ties to watch this weekend
- Newcastle vs Manchester City: a heavyweight clash with Cup upset potential.
- Wolves vs Liverpool: a Friday night test for both sides.
- Wrexham vs Chelsea: lower-league hosts draw huge attention.
- Mansfield vs Arsenal: a classic David vs Goliath FA Cup storyline.
When Premier League action resumes and what to expect
Top-flight fixtures return the following weekend. Matchday 30 is scheduled across Saturday, March 14, Sunday, March 15 and Monday, March 16.
The layout: five matches on Saturday, four on Sunday and a Monday evening fixture to close the round.
Premier League matchday 30 — full fixtures and ET kickoff times
All times Eastern.
- Saturday, March 14
- Burnley vs Bournemouth — 10:00 ET
- Sunderland vs Brighton — 10:00 ET
- Arsenal vs Everton — 12:30 ET
- Chelsea vs Newcastle — 12:30 ET
- West Ham vs Manchester City — 15:00 ET
- Sunday, March 15
- Crystal Palace vs Leeds — 09:00 ET
- Manchester United vs Aston Villa — 09:00 ET
- Nottingham Forest vs Fulham — 09:00 ET
- Liverpool vs Tottenham — 11:30 ET
- Monday, March 16
- Brentford vs Wolves — 15:00 ET
How the FA Cup and Premier League calendars interact this season
The FA Cup’s later rounds will again interrupt the league calendar. The competition resumes with the sixth round across the weekend of April 4-5, creating another pause in regular Premier League scheduling.
That pattern favors marquee cup weekends while compressing some league matchweeks into midweek slots. Supporters should check local listings for TV windows and any last-minute changes.
