Five more Premier League matches take place today in a jam-packed Sunday.
You may have noticed several unusual kick-off times, with three fixtures set for the unusual time of 2:05pm, deviating from the standard 2pm slot, while a match has been added in earlier in the day at 12pm. These precede the highly anticipated 4:30pm top-of-the-table clash between Chelsea and Arsenal.
Below, we run through the reasons behind these scheduling adjustments.
What Premier League fixtures are now kicking-off at 2:05pm on Sunday?
First off, Sunday’s three 2:05pm matches in question are:
Aston Villa will be chasing their seventh win in eight Premier League games when they host rock-bottom Wolves, who are still searching for their first victory of the campaign.
Liverpool are desperate for a spark after losing nine of their last 12 in all competitions. Still, whether that comes on Sunday only time will tell, as they face a difficult trip to an improving West Ham side that have collected seven points from their last three matches, including successive 3-1 home wins.
Thirdly, Nottingham Forest host Brighton in a fixture that astonishingly finished 7-0 to the Tricky Trees last season, which is the club’s biggest-ever Premier League victory.
Why are the matches kicking-off at 2:05pm on Sunday?
The unusual five-minute delay stems from a scheduling conflict triggered by Crystal Palace’s participation in the Conference League.
Palace’s fixture against Manchester United was initially set for a 12:30pm kick-off on Saturday as the selected TNT Sports match for the weekend. However, following Palace’s away trip to Strasbourg in the Conference League on Thursday night, their encounter with Man Utd has been rescheduled to 12pm on Sunday.
This adjustment has created a domino effect. With the game now taking place at midday on Sunday, the three top-flight matches originally scheduled for 2pm have been shifted to 2:05pm.
The five-minute buffer was introduced to minimise the risk of television coverage overlap between the Selhurst Park fixture and the subsequent kick-offs.
Is this unfair on Crystal Palace?
Crystal Palace could reasonably feel aggrieved by the situation, given the extremely short turnaround between their fixtures.
While the Premier League aims to prevent clubs from playing two matches within 60 hours, Palace’s match against Man Utd, which kicks off 64 hours after their midweek visit to Strasbourg, technically meets this requirement.
However, the compressed schedule is compounded by a full set of midweek Premier League matches immediately following the weekend. The Eagles are scheduled to play again on Wednesday, away at Burnley, meaning they will have played three competitive games in a demanding seven-day period
Was there a 12.30pm kick-off on Saturday?
TNT Sports hold the 12.30pm slot on Saturday but, as discussed, their match between Crystal Palace and Man Utd will now be broadcast on the channel at 12pm today (Sunday).
Consequently, there was no top-flight match at 12:30pm on Saturday. Instead, Sky Sports broadcast both Everton against Newcastle (5:30pm) and Tottenham’s clash with Fulham (8pm).
