Birmingham boss John Eustace complains of 'unfair' advantage for Sunderland

Will fixture congestion work in Sunderland's favour?

Birmingham boss John Eustace has complained that Sunderland will have an ‘unfair’ advantage when the sides meet due to the Blues’ fixture congestion.

Sunderland travel to Birmingham on Friday with the match moved 24 hours ahead so it could be shown live on Sky Sports.

However, Birmingham also played on Tuesday, meaning they will have less time to recover than Sunderland, who did not have a midweek fixture.

It’s something that Eustace is not very happy about.

“We have got to go again in 72 hours which is going to be a real tough ask of the group,” Eustace said after his side’s 2-2 draw with Swansea. “But they will be ready for it and we will see.

“But the schedule is definitely wrong in my opinion. Sunderland not playing in the week and they come fresh on Friday. I think it’s a bit unfair.”

For those wondering, the scheduling about which Eustace is unhappy was essentially dictated by Sky Sports, so there is justification for his irritation. 

That said, Tuesday-Friday is the same as Wednesday-Saturday, which is not unusual at all. His main complaint appears to be that Sunderland didn't have a midweek game too. 

Birmingham’s game against Swansea was initially scheduled to be played on September 10 but was, along with all the other EFL and Premier League fixtures, postponed due to the death of Queen Elizabeth II.

They rearranged it on the 20th September, committing to a Tuesday fixture. Five days later, Sky Sports moved the Sunderland match forward to the Friday.

The Queen’s death also saw the postponement of Sunderland’s home game against Millwall, but both clubs decided to cut their World Cup break short by a week to reschedule it for December 3.