Chelsea-Man Utd Premier League game moved to avoid Women’s FA Cup final

Chelsea’s final Premier League home game of the season against Manchester United has been moved to ensure there is no clash with the Women’s FA Cup final between the two teams on Sunday, 18 May.

Instead, the Premier League game will be played on Friday, 16 May, with a 20:00 BST kick-off. It will be screened on Sky Sports.

The entire round of matches was scheduled for 18 May as the Premier League had already pledged it would not hold any games on men’s FA Cup final day on 17 May.

However, Chelsea’s meeting with United in the women’s equivalent the following day also created an issue.

Both clubs were keen for fans to be able to watch that Wembley showpiece as well as the men’s game and requested a change of date, which the Premier League agreed to.

The only other game in that match round not being played on the Sunday is Brighton’s home game with champions-elect Liverpool, which will now be played on Monday, 19 May (20:00 BST).

While the Chelsea-United game does go into an existing TV slot, it is a sign of the importance of the Women’s FA Cup final as a showpiece event that the Premier League agreed to the request.