Why there is no 12:30pm kick-off in the Premier League this Saturday with top-flight teams in European action again
This weekend’s Premier League action will kick off at 3pm, with no early game scheduled in for lunchtime.
Fans usually settle down for some top-flight football from 12:30pm, and we were treated by Manchester City vs Liverpool in the early game last weekend.
But this time around, they will now be left disappointed at having to wait a little longer for the opening fixture.
Why is there no 12:30pm kick-off this Saturday?
There is likely no early kick-off this weekend due to more European fixtures.
If a team plays in midweek, they are not able to play in the 12:30pm kick-off on a Saturday to allow them enough recovery time.
And Man City, Manchester United, Arsenal and Newcastle were all in Champions League action on Tuesday and Wednesday.
READ MORE ON PREMIER LEAGUE
Liverpool, Brighton, Aston Villa and West Ham are also playing in Europe on Thursday.
That means none of those teams can be picked for the early Saturday slot.
Of course, there are also Premier League fixtures between teams that aren’t featuring in Europe, but those games have not been chosen for broadcast.
Instead of the early game, there will now be an 8pm kick-off on Saturday.
Most read in Football
TNT Sports usually broadcast the 12:30pm match but this weekend they will be showing Newcastle vs Man United tonight.
And it will also be exclusively live on talkSPORT!
Coverage of the game will be presented by Reshmin Chowdhury.
Commentary will be coming from Joe Shennan and former Newcastle defender Stuart Pearce.
To tune in to talkSPORT or talkSPORT 2 through the website, click HERE for the live stream. You can also listen via the talkSPORT app, on DAB digital radio, through your smart speaker and on 1089 or 1053 AM.