Explained: Why Liverpool versus Man City has been give bizarre kick-off time as Premier League title rivals meet in crunch clash

The typical slots for a Premier League fixture on a Sunday are 2pm or 4:30pm (GMT), with the blockbuster matchup between two title challengers initially scheduled for the latter time. However, an amendment made to scheduling on Monday saw the game at Anfield moved to 3:45pm GMT (11:45am ET), leaving many fans confused as to why.

The reasoning behind said change is due to fan safety. Merseyside Police called for the earlier kick-off following issues in previous meetings between two increasingly bitter rivals. City's team-bus was damaged by fans on its way out of Anfield in October 2022, while Liverpool supporters were subject to chants relating to Heysel and Hillsbrough tragedies from the City section. The earlier kick-off has been granted as part of the police's attempts to lower the risk of fan altercation before the match.

Liverpool versus City will still be televised as planned, meaning the earlier kick-off between Aston Villa and Tottenham has also been moved to allow for sufficient spacing. That match at Villa Park will now start at 1pm GMT (9am ET). It is not the first time a Premier League game has been amended for fan safety this season, with the Manchester derby in October similarly brought forward over policing concerns.

Regardless of said time change, the Anfield clash will be eagerly anticipated by both sets of fans. A usually tense matchup was given an extra layer importance after Liverpool lost to Arsenal on Sunday. The Reds will now likely need to beat City to have any chance of rivalling Pep Guardiola's side for the league title.