Why Chelsea vs Brentford Will Start at an Unconventional Time on Sunday

Chelsea’s West London derby against Brentford is now set to kick off at 7pm on Sunday, following a change announced by the Premier League in October. Originally planned for 3pm on Saturday, this new timing departs from the usual late Sunday slots of 4pm or 4:30pm. Notably, despite the rescheduling, the match won’t be broadcast live in the UK, even though it falls outside the Saturday blackout period.

Chelsea, currently four points behind league leaders Liverpool, will likely appreciate the extra preparation time as they aim to strengthen their title challenge. The rescheduling comes after Chelsea’s involvement in the Europa Conference League, where they will play Astana in Kazakhstan on Thursday night, a fixture requiring a 7,000-mile round trip. Their match against Brentford was moved to avoid conflicting with the Europa Conference League schedule.

This Sunday’s typical Sky Sports lineup includes Brighton’s derby against Crystal Palace at 2pm, followed by the Manchester derby at 4:30pm. TNT Sports, which usually covers a Saturday 12:30pm match, opted for Tottenham’s game against Southampton, which was rescheduled to Sunday due to Spurs’ Thursday night European fixture. As a result, Chelsea’s game against Brentford was shifted to the 7pm slot for similar scheduling reaso

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