As soon as Sky Sports selected Fulham v Chelsea for live Premier League coverage on Monday, 24 August, a ripple effect was easy to foresee.
With neither club in Europe and both entering the Carabao Cup in round two, each was looking at two fixtures in the same midweek.
Because players require 72 hours of recovery, the EFL Cup matches were tentatively set for Thursday, 27 August.
That was reflected in the Premier League’s weekend plans, with both sides’ games moved to the Sunday a month ago: Fulham’s trip to Sunderland, which was not picked for TV, and Chelsea v Brighton, which Sky did choose.
So far, so straightforward.
However, a further short-notice knock-on for eight EFL clubs was always on the cards.
Fulham and Chelsea’s opponents — Wimbledon and Luton respectively — were scheduled to play League One fixtures on the Saturday after their cup ties.
Those two matches have now been pushed back to the Sunday.
Adding to the complexity, there’s a full League One programme on Tuesday, 1 September.
That has forced four more games to move 24 hours to the Wednesday.
In total, six EFL fixtures involving eight teams have been rescheduled at short notice due to the Monday night Premier League selection.
Impacted games:
Now Sunday, 30 August
Wimbledon v Wigan
Mansfield v Luton
Now Wednesday, 2 September
Burton v Wimbledon
Wigan v MK Dons
Luton v Stockport
Reading v Mansfield