New Chelsea vs Manchester United kick-off time revealed after Tottenham decision | OneFootball

Premier League granting switch for Aston Villa vs Spurs before Europa League final has knock-on effect for Stamford Bridge clash

Chelsea’s Premier League showdown with Manchester United later this month has been given a new kick-off time.

However, that has now been officially pushed back 15 minutes to 8:15pm following the Premier League’s decision to grant Spurs’ request to move their trip to Aston Villa from May 18 to May 16, with a 7:30pm kick-off. Both games are still due to be screened live on Sky Sports.

“The Blues welcome Ruben Amorim’s side to Stamford Bridge on Friday 16 May with the game now set to start at 8.15pm – 15 minutes later than the original time of 8pm.

“This is due to the scheduling of the Aston Villa vs Tottenham fixture which takes place on the same evening.

“The game at Stamford Bridge remains set for live TV broadcast by Sky Sports.”

Tottenham wanted their match brought forward to give them extra preparation time for a potential appearance in the Europa League final in Bilbao on May 21, where they could face Manchester United.

Spurs currently lead Bodo/Glimt 3-1 in their semi-final tie ahead of Thursday night’s second leg in Norway, while United are 3-0 up against Athletic Club and host the Basque side in the second leg at Old Trafford this week.

Villa opposed Tottenham’s request due to there being no precedent for moving league fixtures to accommodate English clubs in Europe, having faced a similarly gruelling schedule during their memorable run to the Champions League quarter-finals and having organised a number of post-match activities, some of which involve players' families, which would not be possible to complete if the game was held in the evening.

However, the Premier League ultimately approved it and now Manchester United and Tottenham will have the same preparation time for the Europa League final, if they both advance on Thursday.

United’s trip to Chelsea had originally been scheduled for May 18 after being picked for live TV broadcast, only to be brought forward to Friday after a request from the two clubs to avoid a clash with the Women’s FA Cup final at Wembley, also being contested between Chelsea and Manchester United.

United and Chelsea’s men’s teams drew 1-1 in the league at Old Trafford back in November, with Moises Caicedo’s volley cancelling out a Bruno Fernandes penalty awarded after Robert Sanchez’s foul on Rasmus Hojlund. United were then under the interim management of Ruud van Nistelrooy, having sacked Erik ten Hag.