Why the Premier League has strange kick-off times on Sunday as fans are left scratching their heads over when they will be able to see their team play

Sky Sport’s Super Sunday has been a staple of football matches for years since its inception in 1992.

Quite often fans have been able to prepare for a 2pm kick-off and then another at 4.30pm, just in time for tea.

But over the last two seasons we’ve seen Sunday start times change dramatically.

That is certainly the case for this weekend’s upcoming action, with Sunday’s first match between Manchester United and Liverpool kicking off at 3pm.

After that, Chelsea’s trip to Bramall Lane to take on Sheffield United will begin at 5:30pm and Tottenham vs Nottingham Forest will begin at 6:00pm.

It may be confusing for fans hoping to see their team on TV over the weekend, but there’s a reason for the strange start times.

Firstly, Tottenham’s trip to the City Ground was moved from its original Monday Night Football schedule due to train strikes, leaving fans traveling from London to Nottingham without transport.

Sheffield United then had to move their match with Chelsea from 1pm to 5.30pm due to the Sheffield Half Marathon taking place on Sunday morning and passing right by the stadium.

The good news for traveling fans is that they will be able to return home by train after the crash.

As noted above, there has been a general move away from the traditional 2:00 pm and 4:30 pm start times and this is for a number of reasons.

Match times are decided by television companies, the police, the clubs involved and Premier League officials. Although the Security Advisory Group has the final say based on the safety of the fans who attend the games.

An hour less drinking time outside the stadium may have an impact on problems inside stadiums, but police have taken a tougher approach following the Casey Report into crowd problems at the Euro 2021 final.

This has led to a number of compromises and games being moved to 3.30pm where they would normally be Sunday prime time.

But in some cases, the match that can be considered the most important of the weekend has also been moved to 2:00 p.m., as is the case with the north London derby on April 28.