^ ^ Why are there Premier League games kicking off at 2.05pm today?

Arne Slot’s Liverpool are looking for a morale-boosting win against West Ham (Picture: Getty)

Eagle-eyed fans of the Premier League may have done a double take when looking at Sunday’s fixtures in the Premier League, with three matches kicking off at the unusual time of 2:05pm GMT.

Much of the focus will be on West Ham’s London Stadium, where Arne Slot’s Liverpool side take to the field in desperate need of a morale-boosting victory after three successive defeats in all competitions.

The reigning English champions have endured a wretched start to the campaign and find themselves down in 13th place ahead of this afternoon’s contest in the capital – 11 points adrift of top-of-the-table Arsenal.

Elsewhere, Unai Emery’s in-form Aston Villa team play host to local rivals Wolves, while Nottingham Forest – riding a three-game winning streak – welcome Brighton to the City Ground.

The day’s action kicks off at Selhurst Park, where Manchester United take on Crystal Palace just days after being booed off the pitch in a 1-0 defeat away to ten-man Everton.

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All eyes will be on Stamford Bridge at 4:30pm, with Arsenal set to slug it out with Chelsea for what promises to be a compelling London derby between first and third.

The Gunners would go seven points clear of second-placed Manchester City with victory over Enzo Maresca’s men in the capital.

Why are games kicking-off at 2.05pm today?

Villa take on neighbours Wolves at Villa Park (Picture: Getty)

Forest do battle against Brighton at the City Ground (Picture: Getty)

The games held at Aston Villa, Nottingham Forest and West Ham are scheduled to begin at 2:05pm as a result of television selections.

Crystal Palace’s clash with United – which willbe shown live on TNT Sports – was originally supposed to kick off at 12:30pm on Saturday.

However, the match has had to be pushed back by almost 24 hours, with Palace having faced Strasbourg in the Europa Conference League on Thursday evening.

Sunday's Premier League fixtures (GMT)

Crystal Palace v Manchester United (12:00)

Aston Villa v Wolves (14:05)

Nottingham Forest v Brighton (14:05)

West Ham v Liverpool (14:05)

Chelsea v Arsenal (16:30)

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This, in turn, forced the three fixtures mentioned above to be delayed by five minutes to reduce the potential risk of overlapping.

According to The Athletic, Sky Sports made the request, with both the Premier League and the six clubs involved giving their approval.

Upcoming midweek fixtures in the top flight have further reduced the space for matches to be moved in the schedule.

Saturday's results in the Premier League

Brentford 3-1 Burnley

Manchester City 3-2 Leeds

Sunderland 3-2 Bournemouth

Everton 1-4 Newcastle

Tottenham 1-2 Fulham

How unusual is the kick-off time?

Arsenal head to Chelsea to bring the curtain down on the weekend’s action (Picture: Getty)

The Premier League do everything in their power to prevent teams from having to play two games within 60 hours of each other.

The Eagles’ clash with Strasbourg took place just 64 hours before their battle with Manchester United today.

There’s no let-up for Palace, who have another quick turnaround after facing United. Oliver Glasner’s men set to lock horns with Burnley on Wednesday night.

Tottenham’s 2-0 win over Wolves in 2021 was the last time a 2:05pm fixture took place (Picture: Getty)

Though unorthodox, Premier League games kicking off at 2:05pm are not completely unheard of in the top division.

There have been a total of 46 2:05pm kick-offs in the history of the Premier League, all of which have occurred on Sundays.

Villa’s 2-1 defeat of Wolves back in September 2010 was the first time that a 2:05pm took place. Wolves were also involved in the most recent 2:05pm kick-off – when the club were defeated 2-0 away to Tottenham in May 2021.

However, never before have three matches taken place at the time slot in unison.

The Premier League have also used 4.05pm and 8.15pm kick-offs in recent times, with a view to avoiding similar instances of potential overlap between matches.

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^ ^ John Terry claims Arsenal star ‘doesn’t like’ facing Chelsea defender Marc Cucurella

Arsenal star Bukayo Saka ‘doesn’t like’ Marc Cucurella’s ‘aggression’, claims John Terry (Picture: Getty)

Chelsea legend John Terry says Arsenal forward Bukayo Saka ‘doesn’t like’ playing against Marc Cucurella and the ‘big battle’ could be key in determining the result of the London derby.

Arsenal are riding a nine-game unbeaten streak in the Premier League and hold a healthy six-point lead over third-placed Chelsea entering into today’s eagerly anticipated contest at Stamford Bridge.

Manchester City ensured they maintained the pressure on the Gunners at the top with a dramatic 3-2 win over Leeds on Saturday, a result that kept Pep Guardiola’s men within four points of the league leaders.

Following three successive runners-up finishes, Mikel Arteta’s side have established themselves as the favourites to lift the coveted trophy this season – 22 years on from their last triumph under Arsene Wenger.

And with Arsenal boasting the best defensive record in Europe’s top five leagues this season, a 1-0 defeat away to Liverpool back in August remains their only loss of the campaign after 12 games.

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The north Londoners should also be encouraged by their statement midweek victory at home to Bayern Munich, a team they had not beaten in over a decade.

Arsenal were not the only English team to lay down a marker in the Champions League this week, though, with Chelsea having swept aside Barcelona in an impressive win just 24 hours earlier in the capital.

Arsenal sit four points clear at the top ahead of the derby (Picture: Getty)

Maresca’s Chelsea side have won three on the bounce in the Premier League (Picture: Getty)

It could not have come at a better time for Enzo Maresca’s side, who appear to have hit their stride following a somewhat inconsistent start to the season both domestically and in Europe.

Maresca is also boosted be the impending return of Cole Palmer, who could be handed his first minutes since mid-September when Chelsea got the better of Manchester United.

‘It’s a massive boost for the football club to have such a top player back involved,’ ex-Chelsea captain Terry said of Palmer’s potential involvement on his TikTok page.

‘But also, more importantly for him, to potentially get 20 to 30 minutes of game-time in his legs so he’s ready for the rest of the season.’

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Terry, a five-time Premier League winner with Chelsea, continued: ‘The manager has some big decisions to make after such a big performance against Barcelona in the week. Will he keep the same XI? w

‘Will Joao Pedro come down the middle as a No.9 or possibly Liam Delap? Will Pedro Neto move out to the left and Alejandro Garnacho on the left maybe?

‘I’m not sure, but whatever the manager’s been doing in recent weeks he’s certainly got it right and I’m sure he’ll make the same call again this weekend.’

Cucurella’s battle with Saka will be key, says Terry (Picture: Getty)

Terry expects the battle between Moises Caicedo and Declan Rice in central midfielder will be crucial in deciding which team is able to get a foothold int he match.

According to Terry, the contest between Cucurella and Saka will be another intriguing match-up where Chelsea could gain the upper hand.

‘We have some battles in the middle of the park,’ he explained.

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‘Moises Caicedo against Declan Rice… two outstanding players who have been superb for both clubs and been putting in man-of-the-match performances week after week so that’s going to be a big battle in the middle of the park

‘We have Saka against Cucurella that’s always a good battle. With them two, I’m not sure Saka likes the aggression from Cucurella.

‘But let me tell you, every Chelsea supporter [does like the aggression] so hopefully he brings that same energy and same intensity like he does always.’

Saka's record against Chelsea in the Premier League

Appearances: 11

Won: 6

Lost: 2

Drawn: 3

Goals: 2

Assists: 3

Terry hopes Chelsea go man-to-man against Arsenal when defending set-pieces (Picture: Getty)

Arsenal have become far and away the Premier League’s most effective team from set-pieces under Arteta over the last two seasons.

In a separate video on his TikTok page, Terry urged Chelsea’s players to ‘make it as difficult’ as possible for Arsenal by going man-to-man when defending the Gunners’ at set-plays.

‘Both teams have set-piece coaches and the importance of these set-piece coaches are vital to both Arsenal’s success and Chelsea’s success, from both attacking and defending corners,’ he said.

‘Let me tell you, set-pieces in training are the most boring thing and no one likes doing it, but the importance of it is vital and you can see that Arsenal have really bought into their set-piece coach and how much Mikel Arteta believes in it. You can see how much work they do on a daily basis.

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‘But we [Chelsea] need to make sure that we’re ready from set-pieces right from the outset because Arsenal are very good and we need to make sure we’re ready to deal with that.

‘One they ofter do is when they have runners coming from around back. I would go man-to-man, give players a bit of responsibility, stop marking the zone in these big games.

‘Put me with an individual and go: “JT, that’s your man, you go and deal with him whatever way you have to deal with him, don’t let him get a run on you, don’t let him get a free header.”‘

Terry went on: ‘Make contact, make it as difficult as you possibly can and then make sure everyone is doing exactly the same around you, freeing up space for the goalkeeper to come and collect these crosses and take it away from Arsenal’s strengths as well.

‘That’s going to be a big topic because Arsenal are very good. We need to on our game and be ready for everything they throw at us.

‘But also from out set-pieces, let’s go and make a real difference in the opposition box and go and make sure we get a couple of goals.’

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^ ^ Chelsea vs Arsenal: Predicted lineups today and confirmed team news

Palmer is ready to make his return against the Gunners (Picture: Getty)

Chelsea will have Cole Palmer back and available when they host Arsenal in a huge Premier League showdown this afternoon.

A persistent groin problem has derailed the England international’s season so far, starting just three games in all competitions.

A fractured toe suffered after stubbing it off a door at home shelved plans for him to return last week against Burnley with Maresca initially suggesting his talisman would be unavailable this weekend.

Palmer was spotted back in training this week however with hope a specially designed boot can speed up his recovery.

Maresca confirmed the good news on Friday, telling reporters Palmer could even come into his starting XI.

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Estevao meanwhile enjoyed a memorable night midweek against Barcelona but there was slight concern when he required treatment in the 83^rd minute before being replaced.

There was no mention of any injury when Maresca spoke to the press on Friday with the Brazil international hoping to keep his place in the starting XI.

Palmer has missed the last two games with a toe injury (Picture:Getty Images)

Arsenal secured another statement-making victory midweek against Bayern Munich in another game Viktor Gyokeres missed.

The Sweden international has now missed the last four games with a hamstring injury suffered at the start of the month against Burnley. Arteta has given little away over the severity of the issue but suggested on Friday the Chelsea game will come too soon for his summer signing.

The same applies to Kai Havertz who has not featured since the opening weekend of the season.

Gyokeres has not played since the start of November (Picture: Getty)

Leandro Trossard was forced off in the first-half on Wednesday night but scans revealed only a minor injury with the Belgian in contention today.

The availability of Gabriel Martinelli, who scored eight minutes after coming off the bench, offers an alternative option however with another midweek goal scorer in Noni Madueke also back in the picture.

Martin Odegaard was another to make his return from injury against Bayern with Arsenal’s injury situation now looking considerably brighter. Gabriel Magalhaes however remains absent with the centre-half not expected back until late December at the earliest.

Chelsea XI vs Arsenal – Metro prediction

Maresca rotated his attack to perfection on Tuesday having utilised Pedro Neto as his most advanced forward. A more orthodox option up front in Liam Delap with Palmer back in the side could be their best bet in breaking down Arsenal’s mean defence.

Arsenal XI vs Chelsea – Metro prediction

If Gyokeres is not deemed fit to start, Mikel Merino will have the chance to lead the line again as he has done so effectively in recent weeks.

After coming off the bench against Bayern, Odegaard will hope to return to the starting XI to skipper the side in west London.

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Who do you think will win?

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Key battle: Moises Caicedo vs Declan Rice

The two best midfielders in the league have been the beating heart of their respective teams this season. Both have stepped up another level – the presence of Martin Zubimendi has allowed Rice to immerse himself in a more box-to-box role while Caicedo has taken to setting the tempo for Chelsea, developing into a metronomic presence in the middle of the park.

Whoever has the better game could lead their side to victory.

Chelsea vs Arsenal kick-off time and live stream

Chelsea vs Arsenal takes place today (Sunday 30 November) with kick-off scheduled for 4:30pm.

You can watch the match live on Sky Sports Premier League and Sky Sports Main Event with streaming also available through the Sky Go app and NOW TV for subscribers.

You can also follow all the action with Metro’s LIVE match day blog.

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