Paris Saint-Germain have been given the green light to reschedule a Ligue 1 fixture that could give them the edge against Aston Villa in the Champions League.
Luis Enrique’s side will host Villa at the Parc des Princes stadium on Wednesday, April 9 for the first leg of their quarter-final tie.
A league match with Nantes was scheduled on Sunday, April 13 followed by the second leg at Villa Park on Tuesday, April 15.
But, to the delight of PSG, their proposal to Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP) to postpone the Nantes fixture was granted.
According to French reports the fixture has been moved to April 22, meaning they will not play a game in between the two Champions League ties.
An outcome Nantes were not pleased with as they believe the LFP are ‘undermining the fairness and integrity’ of Ligue 1.
On social media platform X Nantes fans showed their anger as their club posted a ticket link to the PSG rescheduled match.
“Are you refunding supporters who can’t come on Tuesday evening and who already have their tickets, I hope,” said one fan.
Another supporter said: “I wouldn’t be surprised if the fans boycotted this match.”
Aston Villa fans were equally annoyed as they face Southampton in the Premier League between those two Champions League games.
One said on X: “What a joke.”
Another added: “This is basically an unfair advantage.”
Nantes’ match against Stade Rennais will take place on Friday, April 18 and their game against Toulouse will likely be on Sunday, April 27.
PSG currently sit first 19 points ahead of second place Marseille while Nantes are 13th, six points away from the relegation zone.
PSG are set to win their fourth consecutive Ligue 1 trophy but they are desperately hunting for the Champions League – a trophy they are yet to lift.
They came close in 2020 against Bayern Munich in the finals but former PSG player Kingsley Coman scored the only goal.
Earlier this season PSG struggled for form in the competition losing to Bayern, Atletico Madrid and Arsenal but in the knockout stage they flipped a switch.
The Parisian side smashed Brest 10-0 on aggregate before knocking Liverpool out on penalties.
Unai Emery will face off against his former club, one he left in 2018 to eventually become Arsenal head coach.
PSG loanee Marco Asensio may be Emery’s key to victory and is not cup tied as there is no rule preventing the Spaniard from playing.
He has scored seven goals in eight matches for Villa since signing in January.
