Chelsea’s home Premier League game against Manchester United has been rescheduled – but the revised date is now the day before the FA Cup final.
The fixture at Stamford Bridge was initially set to take place on Sunday 18 May at 3pm but it has been brought forward to the Friday, kicking off at 8pm.
The change, announced on Thursday, comes despite a previous promise from the FA that there would be no top-flight games the night before the showpiece at Wembley.
The revised showdown will be shown live on Sky Sports, it has been confirmed.
Both clubs acted to ensure there was no scheduling clash with the Women’s FA Cup final between the two sides on the Sunday.
Keen for supporters to watch the game at the national stadium as well as the men’s match, a request for a date change was made and accepted by the Premier League.
Chelsea’s home game against Manchester United has been moved forward to Friday 16 May
The fixture change was made to avoid a clash with the Women’s FA Cup final at Wembley
In moving the game, the FA reneged on a promise not to hold a top-flight match on that Friday
The entire round of fixtures was scheduled for May 18 with the Premier League vowing not to hold any games on the day of the men’s FA Cup final on the 17th.
Brighton’s home game against Liverpool is the only other game that weekend not being played on the Sunday, and has been moved to Monday 19 May (8pm KO).
United’s trip to Chelsea could not be moved beyond that weekend because they may still be involved in the Europa League final in Bilbao on Wednesday 21 May.
A statement from the FA earlier this season confirmed the men’s FA Cup final would take place on the penultimate weekend of the Premier League campaign.
However, it also added: ‘Additionally, there will be no Premier League games on the Friday before the Final, to allow focus on the build-up to the showpiece event.’
The corresponding game at Old Trafford took place in November and ended in a 1-1 draw after Bruno Fernandes’ penalty was cancelled out by Moises Caicedo.
The Women’s FA Cup final will kick off at 1:30pm on May 18 and United, managed by Marc Skinner, will look to build on their 2-0 semi-final victory over Manchester City.
