The Premier League will decide on Thursday if the opening round of fixtures this weekend are to be postponed following another night of rioting.

London remained relatively calm because of an increased police presence but
problems in other cities such as Birmingham, Manchester and Nottingham have
raised doubts over games going ahead.

The Premier League and Football League are due to meet tomorrow to decide
whether games in the capital will go ahead.

Before trouble continued to spread to other cities last night both leagues had said they had no reason to believe any games outside of London would be affected.

A statement from the leagues yesterday said: "The Premier League and Football League are saddened by the recent incidents of civil unrest and the effect it is having on local communities.

"We are in ongoing discussions with our London-based clubs, the Metropolitan Police and statutory authorities in regard to the staging of the coming weekend's fixtures in the capital.

"The Metropolitan Police has conveyed to us the dynamic nature of the current situation and with that in mind all parties will review the situation on Thursday and make a further public statement at that time.

"With the information currently available to us there is no reason to think any matches outside of London will be affected.

"We are conscious of the need to keep fans informed of any developments and will, of course, keep them as up to date as possible through club, league and media channels."

England's international against Holland at Wembley was called off on Tuesday as were four Carling Cup matches in London and Bristol.