Steve Clarke is angered that the Premier League has opted to schedule a massive fixture just 10 minutes after his side's FA Cup semi-final clash with Arsenal.

The Royals meet the Gunners at Wembley with kick-off set for 4:20pm on Saturday while league leaders Chelsea host Manchester United at 4:30pm and Clarke feels it should be a stand-alone game time.

"There are things that we need to do to protect what is for me, a great competition. It should be special," he said.

"I thought it was also a shame in the last round against Bradford when we had to play our replay on a Monday night - after playing a league game on the Saturday.

"There will be 31,000 Reading fans in the stadium though and any that haven't got a ticket will be watching on the TV."

The winner of the Reading v Arsenal clash will meet Liverpool or Aston Villa in the FA Cup final on May 30.