Why are Chelsea playing at 2pm on Sunday? Blues fixture impacted by Aston Villa’s European involvement

Chelsea take on Aston Villa this weekend with the game set to take place in an unusual slot on Sunday afternoon. 

The Blues’ woes from last season have continued as they sit in 14th place in the Premier League having only won one of their opening five games. 

Chelsea are desperate for some positivity at the club

Mauricio Pochettino’s arrival in the dugout has not impacted results as of yet and they now face a tough task against Unai Emery’s Villa.

Their desperate search for some positivity at Stamford Bridge continues on Sunday, with kick-off set for 2pm.

Why are Chelsea playing at 2pm on Sunday? 

Chelsea are playing at 2pm on Sunday due to Aston Villa’s participation in Europe.

The game was originally scheduled to be played on Saturday, however, it was moved at the beginning of September. 

Due to Villa playing Legia Warsaw in the Europa Conference League on Thursday evening, it means they have to play on Sunday.

The game could have been switched to Monday but both teams are in Carabao Cup action in midweek so there can be no fixture on that day. 

It has been moved to allow the Villa players to have enough recovery time in between fixtures and of course, their travel time back from Poland is considered. 

The 2pm kick-off time was the only option for the fixture with Sheffield United vs Newcastle chosen for the 4:30pm kick-off.

Villa scored twice in Poland but were beaten by Legia Warsaw

That 2pm slot is a busy one this weekend, with so many Premier League clubs playing in Europe this midweek. 

There are four games at the same time and only one will be shown on TV. 

And that’s the huge North London derby between Arsenal and Tottenham, so therefore Chelsea vs Aston Villa will not be available to watch. 

talkSPORT will have live updates of all of the games this weekend.

Sam Matterface has all the goals as they go live on the Sunday Session from 1:30pm. 

To tune in to talkSPORT or talkSPORT 2 through the website, click HERE for the live stream.

ou can also listen via the talkSPORT app, on DAB digital radio, through your smart speaker and on 1089 or 1053 AM.

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By: Jack Johnson
Title: Why are Chelsea playing at 2pm on Sunday? Blues fixture impacted by Aston Villa’s European involvement
Sourced From: talksport.com/football/1574976/chelsea-sunday-kick-off-time-aston-villa-premier-league/
Published Date: Fri, 22 Sep 2023 12:57:09 +0000