The reason behind Liverpool vs Man City's unusual Premier League kick-off time
Liverpool host Manchester City in a blockbuster match on Sunday afternoon which could prove decisive in the Premier League title race.
The match will see the defending champions head to Anfield for what promises to be their trickiest test of the campaign. Arsenal’s 2-1 win over Brentford on Saturday evening saw them leapfrog both sides and further emphasise what is at stake.
Liverpool are a point better off than City going into the game, but victory for either side will see them claim top spot with 10 matches left to play. To make things even more tantalising, City then host Arsenal in their next Premier League match on March 31.
Millions of people around the world will be tuning in to watch the game, while some have been forking out £6,500 for tickets on the black market. Those watching on TV may have been surprised to see a kick-off time of 3.45pm.
The match will be broadcast live in the UK by Sky Sports, who usually have their second match on Super Sunday scheduled for 4.30pm. Games are sometimes moved for broadcasting reasons, or due to a clash with another major event.
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But on this occasion, it has been brought forward slightly because of a request from Merseyside Police, who are concerned about the potential for crowd trouble. The rivalry between the two clubs has grown over the past few years, with both teams battling away at the top of the Premier League, and there is previous for problems around this fixture.
City’s bus was hit with bottles and flares thrown by rowdy Liverpool fans in April 2018 while a window on Manchester United’s bus was broken by a bottle on its way to Anfield in December. “We have been working closely with the two football clubs and supporters’ groups for this Sunday’s match at Anfield,” Chief Inspector Kevin Chatterton, match commander for the game, told the Daily Mail earlier this week.
Manchester City's team bus has been targeted by Liverpool fans before (Robbie Jay Barratt/Getty Images)“As with every football match, we have a robust policing [plan] in place. Any disorderly behaviour will not be tolerated, and we will take action to identify and bring to justice anyone found responsible for committing offensive and disorderly behaviour.”
Jurgen Klopp is aware of the significance of the fixture. “Big game. City games [are] big games always – were always, will probably always be,” he said in his pre-match press conference. “Title-race decider? I don’t know who brought that up – I think it’s really early. If you go through all the different possible scenarios, then I don’t think after whatever result anybody should open the bottles of champagne.
“Nothing happened then. But it’s three points. It’s an incredibly strong opponent. We don’t hide that we want to win that game, but knowing how difficult it is. But that’s it pretty much. It’s a big game, I understand that 100 per cent, and we are really excited about the fact that we are part of it.”
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