Why Chelsea's match against Aston Villa isn't being shown on live TV

24 September 2023 , 06:00

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Chelsea are set to face Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge (Image: Rob Newell - CameraSport via Getty Images)

Chelsea are set to host Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge on Sunday, but fans in the UK will not be able to watch the match live on TV.

The fixture was originally set to take place on Saturday, but Villa's involvement in the Europa Conference League meant it was moved to Sunday at 2pm. Villa faced Legia Warsaw in the Europa Conference League on Thursday, suffering a 3-2 defeat in Poland.

As a result, the match was pushed back to allow Villa's players more time to recover and to travel back to the UK. Chelsea, meanwhile, are not playing European football for the first time in seven years after finishing 12th last season.

Sky Sports do have the rights to broadcast games kicking off at 2pm on a Sunday, but they are showing the North London derby between Arsenal and Tottenham in that slot instead. Chelsea's game against Aston Villa is not the only one to have been pushed back to 2pm on Sunday, with Bournemouth's trip to Brighton and Liverpool's clash with West Ham also in that slot.

And that is down to the fact that both Brighton and Liverpool were also in action in the Europa League on Thursday evening. The Seagulls lost 3-2 AEK Athens at the Amex, while the Reds beat LASK 3-1 in Austria.

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Unfortunately, the 2pm timeslot was the only one available for all three fixtures, with Newcastle against Sheffield United already chosen as the 4:30pm kick-off. Speaking ahead of the game, Blues boss Mauricio Pochettino admitted his side's lack of European football could benefit them.

"I think for us it's about recovering players from injuries and the players who were out in the international break," Pochettino said. "In these circumstances for us it is good to have time to work.

"It was a very good week, we worked really hard with the players that we have and then time to recover players. If you are involved in European competition it's difficult.

"For the fans of course it is difficult because normally Chelsea is a club that is involved in the European competitions, but at the moment we are not. I think we need to take advantage of the situation."

Villa manager Unai Emery, meanwhile, is expecting a "tough" contest against Chelsea despite the fact they have only picked up one win this season. "They're a very good team with a very good coach," he said. "Previously, they were contenders to be in the top seven teams in the Premier League. It's a tough match."

Matthew Cooper