Premier League set to move Champions League clubs' games to FRIDAY to help preparations

Premier League clubs could be given an extra 24 hours to prepare for Champions League clashes from next season.

The likes of Leicester, Tottenham, Arsenal and Manchester City - the clubs currently occupying the top-four spots - may get their matches brought forward into the new Friday night TV slot ahead of European games the following midweek.

It will still depend on television scheduling, but it is an avenue which could help the Premier League to boost their teams' chances, with other top European leagues doing similar fixture-list tweaks already.

Chelsea are away to Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg of a Champions League last-16 tie next Tuesday, having played Newcastle at Stamford Bridge in a game broadcast live on Sky Sports on Saturday evening.

Shape of things to come: Manchester United beat Aston Villa on a Friday night last August

 Man City have written to the FA to complain that their FA Cup tie next week - against Chelsea - has been switched to 4pm on the Sunday for live TV, even though they face a long trip to Ukraine to play Dynamo Kiev in the Champions League 75 hours later, then a League Cup final against Liverpool four days after that.

It is a long-running complaint from Premier League clubs, and now there could be a chance to help if possible and give a greater breathing space from the existing guidelines.

The Premier League have it set down that games after a Europa League match on a Thursday must be played on Sundays and that teams in the Champions League have to be given three days' rest before their next domestic fixture.

Meanwhile, the Premier League has launched a new-look identity which will kick in from the start of the 2016-17 season and features a reworking of the league's lion icon.