Manchester United have received a boost with their next Premier League match against Burnley kicking off late this weekend.
The Red Devils are on a poor run of form with a 3-1 defeat to Brighton, making it three defeats in four matches domestically.
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Erik ten Hag’s side will look to start their Champions League campaign with a victory when they take on Bayern Munich on Wednesday.
But United will then face a quick turnaround, with their Premier League trip to Burnley scheduled for three days later.
Why is Burnley v Man United at 8 p.m.?
This match was rescheduled for television purposes after being picked up for broadcast by TNT Sports.
It was originally scheduled to take place at 3 p.m. on the same day, but it was not moved to TNT’s main slot, which is the Saturday 12:30 p.m. kickoff.
Indeed, the Premier League agreed last season that clubs playing in Europe on Wednesday evenings should not play in the match at the start of the weekend.
TNT’s compromise was instead to consider alternative kick-off times rather than forfeit its selected matches, as was the case when Manchester City beat Newcastle 1-0 last month, days after winning the Super Cup.
And while United were away in Munich on Wednesday, the only slot available to face Burnley on Saturday was 8 p.m.
Sky Sports fills the 5.30pm slot and broadcasts Brentford v Everton, with TNT looking to maximize its viewers by avoiding a clash of matches.
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Andrew Georgiou, president of sport at Discovery, told The Times: “We are happy to have the 12.30pm kick-off which we bought as part of the package, but the reality is that the clubs and the league have agreed that if there is a club playing in the Champions League on a Wednesday night, they cannot play on Saturday’s 12:30 kick-off.
“Saturday at 12:30 p.m. is perfect for us, it’s our time slot. Unfortunately, the Premier League and the clubs have agreed that if this happens the match will not be able to start at 12:30 p.m. and so we will have to find another slot.
“I don’t think we can be asked to change our choices. What we need to do is find the best time slot to suit the needs of the club and our needs in terms of the matches we choose.
“I don’t think we should be expected to change our picks based on who’s playing on a Wednesday night.”
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