Why Aston Villa v Crystal Palace has been handed bizarre kick-off time for Premier League clash this Sunday
Aston Villa and Crystal Palace meet in the Premier League this weekend, but the fixture has been given a strange kick-off time.
The two teams will face off at Villa Park on Sunday, August 31 in Gameweek 3 of the new season.
Both teams are without a win so far this term and this match will be important for both.
Villa opened their campaign with a goalless draw against Newcastle before losing at Brentford on Saturday.
Meanwhile, fresh from lifting the Community Shield, the Eagles have claimed credible draws with Chelsea and Nottingham Forest in their first two games.
The two sides will now meet in the Premier League on Sunday eyeing three points, but fans may be puzzled to see the match taking place in an unusual slot.
Why is Aston Villa vs Crystal Palace at 7pm on a Sunday?
Villa vs Palace was initially scheduled for Friday, August 29, but it has since been handed a new date and kick-off time.
It will instead take place at 7pm on Sunday and will be live on talkSPORT.
This is due to the Eagles’ participation in the Conference League play-off round.
Oliver Glasner’s side travel to Fredrikstad on Thursday for the second leg of their play-off having beaten the Norwegian club 1-0 last week.
As a result, due to player recovery, their next Premier League match cannot be played the next day, as first planned and will played late on Sunday instead.
The fixture was originally chosen for live TV coverage by Sky Sports, and a club statement from Villa confirmed this will still be the case.
It means fans in the UK will be treated to four Premier League games shown live by the broadcaster on Sunday.
Sky Sports will also be showing Brighton’s clash with Manchester City, and Nottingham Forest vs West Ham, both of which are 2pm kick-offs.
Then at 4:30pm, fans can tune in as Liverpool host Arsenal in a blockbuster clash at Anfield.
talkSPORT will have live commentary from Villa Park with Joe Shennan and Gabby Agbonlahor.
Why are Crystal Palace playing in the Conference League?
The Eagle’s initially qualified for the Europa League after winning the FA Cup with a 1-0 victory over Man City in May.
However, they were then relegated to the Conference League following a UEFA ruling over a breach of multi-club ownership rules.
Palace fell foul of the rule due to former co-owner John Textor’s involvement with French side Olympique Lyon, who qualified for the Europa League via a 6th-place finish in Ligue 1 last term.
And after their appeal to overturn this was dismissed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), their spot in Europe’s third-tier was confirmed on Monday.
The ruling means Nottingham Forest, who finished seventh in the Premier League last term and initially qualified for the Conference League, have since been elevated to the Europa League.
Villa will also take part in this year’s Europa League, booking their spot in the league phase with a fifth-place league finish last term.
Aston Villa vs Crystal Palace: The backstory
Villa will be looking to gain revenge on Palace when they meet this weekend.
Unai Emery‘s side failed to beat the south Londoners in all four of their encounters last season, losing three times and drawing once.
None will have been more painful than their most recent clash, where they were beaten 3-0 by the Eagles in the FA Cup semi-finals at Wembley.
Eberechi Eze opened the scoring with a stunning curled effort in the first-half, before Ismaila Sarr netted twice after the interval to send Palace through.
It wasn’t any better for Villa in the previous fixture either, as they were thrashed 4-1 at Selhurst Park in the Premier League.
The reverse league game ended in a 2-2 draw while Palace also claimed bragging rights over Villa in the EFL Cup fourth round last season, winning 2-1 in Birmingham.
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