Why are there Premier League games kicking off at 2.05pm today?

Eagle-eyed fans of the Premier League may have done a double take when looking at Sunday’s fixtures in the Premier League, with three matches kicking off at the unusual time of 2:05pm GMT.

Much of the focus will be on West Ham’s London Stadium, where Arne Slot’s Liverpool side take to the field in desperate need of a morale-boosting victory after three successive defeats in all competitions.

The reigning English champions have endured a wretched start to the campaign and find themselves down in 13th place ahead of this afternoon’s contest in the capital – 11 points adrift of top-of-the-table Arsenal.

Elsewhere, Unai Emery’s in-form Aston Villa team play host to local rivals Wolves, while Nottingham Forest – riding a three-game winning streak – welcome Brighton to the City Ground.

The day’s action kicks off at Selhurst Park, where Manchester United take on Crystal Palace just days after being booed off the pitch in a 1-0 defeat away to ten-man Everton.

All eyes will be on Stamford Bridge at 4:30pm, with Arsenal set to slug it out with Chelsea for what promises to be a compelling London derby between first and third.

The Gunners would go seven points clear of second-placed Manchester City with victory over Enzo Maresca’s men in the capital.

Why are games kicking-off at 2.05pm today?

The games held at Aston Villa, Nottingham Forest and West Ham are scheduled to begin at 2:05pm as a result of television selections.

Crystal Palace’s clash with United – which willbe shown live on TNT Sports – was originally supposed to kick off at 12:30pm on Saturday.

However, the match has had to be pushed back by almost 24 hours, with Palace having faced Strasbourg in the Europa Conference League on Thursday evening.

This, in turn, forced the three fixtures mentioned above to be delayed by five minutes to reduce the potential risk of overlapping.

According to The Athletic, Sky Sports made the request, with both the Premier League and the six clubs involved giving their approval.

Upcoming midweek fixtures in the top flight have further reduced the space for matches to be moved in the schedule.

How unusual is the kick-off time?

The Premier League do everything in their power to prevent teams from having to play two games within 60 hours of each other.

The Eagles’ clash with Strasbourg took place just 64 hours before their battle with Manchester United today.

There’s no let-up for Palace, who have another quick turnaround after facing United. Oliver Glasner’s men set to lock horns with Burnley on Wednesday night.

Though unorthodox, Premier League games kicking off at 2:05pm are not completely unheard of in the top division.

There have been a total of 46 2:05pm kick-offs in the history of the Premier League, all of which have occurred on Sundays.

Villa’s 2-1 defeat of Wolves back in September 2010 was the first time that a 2:05pm took place. Wolves were also involved in the most recent 2:05pm kick-off – when the club were defeated 2-0 away to Tottenham in May 2021.

However, never before have three matches taken place at the time slot in unison.

The Premier League have also used 4.05pm and 8.15pm kick-offs in recent times, with a view to avoiding similar instances of potential overlap between matches.

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