David Moyes, the Everton manager, has advocated the introduction of a rule preventing teams from playing matches less than 72 hours apart after saying it is “unfair” that Chelsea have to play two matches in such a short time.

Having drawn 1-1 at home to Wigan Athletic on Monday, Chelsea face another Barclays Premier League match against Everton at Goodison Park this evening. Moyes sympathises with Avram Grant, the Chelsea first-team coach, whose fury at the fixture congestion is likely to increase if his team drop points and all but hand the title to Manchester United.

Although Moyes believes that Chelsea may benefit from having four days to prepare for their Champions League semi-final, first leg against Liverpool at Anfield on Tuesday, the Everton manager is concerned that the rescheduling of this evening's fixture at such short notice may set a dangerous precedent.

“It's not quite as unfair on Everton as it is on Chelsea,” Moyes said. “It's unfair on supporters who maybe travel a distance to see their team. It's not as easy on a Thursday as a Saturday. We need to be careful this isn't something that is going to pop its head up at the end of every season. It could cause problems. There could be a case for having maybe a 72-hour guaranteed period between games.”

Everton will move to within two points of Liverpool in the battle for fourth place if they beat Chelsea, but Moyes said: “I don't think we can qualify for the Champions League, but we might need to win a big game in the run-in to qualify for the Uefa Cup.”