Why has Man City’s top-of-the-table clash with Liverpool been switched to the early kick-off on Saturday?… and why will Sky be showing the game instead of TNT Sports?
- League leaders Man City will host Liverpool in the Premier League on Saturday
- The game has been moved forward five hours and will be shown on Sky Sports
- It’s the world against Everton – it can galvanise the players to stay up – IAKO
The Premier League will resume with a mouthwatering top-of-the-table clash between Manchester City and Liverpool at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday.
Just one point separates the two teams going into the match, meaning top spot is up for grabs this weekend.
But the match was originally scheduled for 5.30pm. So, why has it been moved forward five hours?
Saturday’s game will now be played at 12.30pm due to police concerns following previous crowd trouble when City and Liverpool have played each other.
A 15-year-old girl suffered head injuries after being hit by a glass bottle during last December’s Carabao Cup clash at the Etihad, while disabled Liverpool fans were allegedly racially abused.
Man City’s match against Liverpool has been moved to the early-kick on Saturday due to concerns over potential crowd trouble
The match will be shown on Sky Sports, with regular pundits Gary Neville (left) and Jamie Carragher (right) likely to be on hand to give their expert opinion
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Both clubs condemned the behaviour, with Liverpool apologising to the girl who was left ‘scarred for life’ by the incident.
The Premier League have now taken the decision to move the game to an earlier kick-off in the hope this will decrease the likelihood of issues between supporters occurring prior to the match.
This has not gone down well with everyone, though, with Jurgen Klopp hitting out at the scheduling earlier this month.
TNT Sports will now show the 5.30pm game between Brentford and Arsenal
TNT Sports typically show the early kick-off every Saturday, but that will not be the case this weekend.
Given that the City-Liverpool match was due to be later in the day on Sky Sports, the two broadcasters have come together and agreed to a one-off switch to enable Sky to still show the match, but in an unfamiliar time slot for the channel.
Saturday’s 5.30pm fixture is now Brentford hosting Arsenal, and while this would usually be on Sky, the weekend switch means it will now be on TNT Sports.
Mikel Arteta’s men could move into top spot with a win at the Gtech Community Stadium, depending on the result of the earlier City-Liverpool match.
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