Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe has sympathised with Liverpool counterpart Jurgen Klopp, but acknowledged the Reds will have to "bite the bullet" amid scheduling concerns.
Klopp expressed his annoyance with the Premier League calendar and broadcaster BT Sport after it was confirmed Liverpool will visit Newcastle in the early kick-off on Saturday, April 30.
That leaves less than 72 hours to recover from the first leg of their Champions League semi-final with Villarreal before the return meeting three days after the visit to St James' Park.
With the Merseyside club still in contention for the Premier League, one point behind leaders Manchester City – who they also face in the FA Cup semi-finals on Saturday – Klopp called for "common sense" to be used.
While Howe appreciated the German's frustrations, the Magpies manager suggested the scheduling problems were a result of the success of Liverpool, who have requested the fixture to be moved.
"It's a very difficult situation. They've been very successful this year, they've ended up playing a lot of games, so I understand it from their viewpoint," Howe told reporters on Friday.
"I’d probably have the same opinion if I was them.
"For us, we've been in their position many times over the years where you look at it and you think, 'How has it ended up this game being moved to this time or this day?'.
"But we have very little say in the fixtures in terms of when they come and how they sit, and you just have to react and deal with it.
"I have every sympathy with Liverpool, but they're winning lots of games and they're in lots of competitions, naturally it's going to be that way."
Asked if a fixture change would be unfair on Newcastle, Howe added: "We get told when to play and we'll turn up and do our best. It's not up to us to decide when games are played.
"We ended up with four away games in very quick succession recently, which was far from ideal for us, but we had to bite the bullet and get on with it.
"As I said, we don't decide the fixtures, we'll play the game. But I do have every sympathy."
Holders Spain drawn against the Netherlands in Nations League quarters
Reigning champions Spain have been drawn against the Netherlands in the quarter-finals of the Nations League.
Spain won five of their six games in Group A4, and will face the Dutch for the first time in a competitive match since their 5-1 defeat at the World Cup in 2014.
France, who emerged victorious in the 2020-21 edition of the Nations League, will take on Croatia in a repeat of their World Cup final meeting six years ago.
Germany will face Italy while Portugal, who were the inaugural winners of the tournament, were drawn against Denmark, with the two-legged fixtures taking place in March.
The semi-finals are single legs which will get underway in June, with the third-place play-off and final to be played three days later.
European champions Spain, Portugal and Germany topped their groups without losing a game to go into the seeded teams' pot along with France.
The winner of Spain's enticing tie with the Netherlands will play either France or Croatia, while Cristiano Ronaldo will be looking to inspire Portugal to a second title.
Only Sweden's Viktor Gyokeres (nine), Norway's Erling Haaland (seven) and Romania's Razvan Marin (six) have scored more goals in this year's edition than Ronaldo (five).
Scotland, who finished third in Group A1 behind Portugal and Croatia, will face Greece in a Nations League play-off to remain in the top tier of the competition.
The other play-off games will see Turkey face Hungary, Ukraine take on Belgium, and Austria square off against Serbia in March.
Pareja sees no limit to what Orlando can achieve in playoffs
Orlando City head coach Oscar Pareja is taking the playoffs one game at a time, with the Eastern Conference semifinals next up, but would love to bring the MLS Cup back to Florida.
The Lions are the highest-seeded team in the East, meaning they will have home advantage for the final if they make it past Atlanta United on Sunday.
They beat Charlotte FC in the first round, winning both of their home matches – the second on penalties – to advance, and Pareja remains hopeful his side can keep their playoff journey going.
"It's good [that the road to the final goes through Orlando]," he said. "I'm always optimistic to advance and have the advantage to play it at home and the next game.
"In Major League Soccer, anything can happen. I would love to not just advance to the final of the conference but to bring the MLS Cup here. Our responsibility is to play one game at a time, and we're going to be ready for this one for sure."
Atlanta, meanwhile, pulled off arguably one of the greatest upsets in playoff history when they knocked out MLS Cup favourites Inter Miami.
Having lost the first tie, they won the following two in the series to advance, having previously been given a slim chance of making the playoffs in the first place, getting through by beating Orlando 2-1 away on decision day.
Before another trip to Florida, Dax McCarty outlined the ways in which they can make it difficult for their hosts.
"It's a fine balance," he said. "You don't want to allow them to have too much of the ball, because then we get frustrated...
"We're just going to have to be sharp in all phases of the game, in transition and possession, because if we can keep the ball away from them, they don't want that, they'll get a little bit frustrated."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Orlando City – Facundo Torres
Facundo Torres' equalizing goal at 101:47 in Game 3 against Charlotte FC was the third-latest stoppage time goal in MLS history (regular season & playoffs).
It was also the second-latest result-changing goal (Tom Barlow – 90'+17 for New York Red Bulls vs. San Jose Earthquakes in 2023).
Atlanta United – Jamal Thiare
Jamal Thiare's two goals in 107 seconds in the first half of Atlanta’s Game 3 win over Inter Miami was the fastest a player has scored twice in a postseason match since Nicolas Mezquida scored two goals in 90 seconds for the Vancouver Whitecaps against San Jose in the 2017 playoffs.
MATCH PREDICTION: ORLANDO CITY WIN
This will be the first postseason meeting between Orlando and Atlanta. Orlando have four wins in 22 all-time meetings with the Five Stripes (D7 L11), including losing the only previous knockout match 2-0 in the 2019 US Open Cup semifinals.
Orlando have lost only one of their last 13 home matches in all competitions (W8 D4, including two penalty shootout wins and one penalty shootout loss). Orlando's only home defeat in that time was a 2-1 loss to Atlanta United on October 19.
Atlanta's 3-2 win at Miami in Game 3 on November 9 ended a six-match road winless run in the playoffs (D1, advancing in a penalty shoot-out, L5).
It was Atlanta's second-ever road playoff win after also beating NYCFC on the road in the 2018 conference semifinals.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Orlando City – 55.6%
Draw – 22.9%
Atlanta United – 21.5%
Slot: Guardiola contract is 'good news' for Premier League
Arne Slot believes it is "good news" for the Premier League that Pep Guardiola has signed a contract extension with Manchester City.
The Spaniard signed a two-year extension with the reigning champions and will remain in the dugout at the Etihad until 2027.
He has won 18 major trophies in his time at City, including six Premier League titles, and twice beat Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool to the top-flight crown by a single point.
Guardiola averages 2.35 points per game in the Premier League, the highest rate of any manager (20+ matches). Indeed, he is so far ahead of the next highest (Alex Ferguson's 2.16), he could lose his next 26 league games in a row and would still be top.
Slot is yet to face City since taking over from Klopp at the start of the season, with the rivals' first meeting of the season set for December 1.
"It's good news for City and for the league because everyone wants the best managers and the best players over here," Slot said when asked about Guardiola's new contract.
"He is definitely one of the best managers, maybe the best manager of the league.
"He's won four titles in a row, so it's fair to say he's maybe the best manager in the league.
"On the other hand, they have so many quality players that, if he would have made the choice to leave, I wouldn't have expected them to end up bottom of the league next season."
Other Premier League managers echoed Slot's sentiment, with Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler, who inflicted a fourth consecutive defeat on City before the international break, saying it is the "best thing that can happen to the Premier League".
"He is one of the best coaches in the world," Hurzeler said. "With his ideas, he always brings something new to the football stage, and it is always a challenge to compete against him.
"He always adapts quickly, always has new ideas and he can always win the game. I'm very happy because we can learn from him and to compete with him is a big, big experience."
Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe added: "He's contributed so much to English football. He's revolutionised how a lot of teams play.
"I think he's incredibly talented, and it's good for the English game that he's still here.
"He will continue to develop and evolve his style, and people will potentially continue to follow that. From the competition side, I think it keeps the Premier League as the best in the world."
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