Manchester United's Premier League clash against Everton this Sunday has been moved to an earlier kick-off time due to concerns over fan safety. Red Devils boss Ruben Amorim is set to take charge of his first domestic game at Old Trafford at the weekend and will be looking for a better result than the 1-1 draw he picked up against Ipswich last weekend.
Despite the fact that supporters from both sides are set to unite to protest the rising cost of tickets in English football, it has been alleged that Sunday's fixture, which is scheduled to start at 1:30pm instead of the usual 2pm slot, is to avoid any crowd trouble involving supporters from another game set to take place the same day.
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While a definitive reason why United's tie against the Toffees has been moved has not been provided, it has been claimed that the adjustment aims to prevent too much crossover between supporters traveling to and from Old Trafford and those going to watch Liverpool take on Manchester City later in the afternoon. The top of the table clash has also been moved to an earlier kick-off of 4pm, where a win for Arne Slot's men will see them go eight points clear of Pep Guardiola's side at the Premier League summit.
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The reason for the adjusted start time is also believed to stem from policing concerns, as feisty battles between the two sides have caused issues in the past and led to previous encounters being scheduled for earlier kick-offs. When the two sides faced off back in March, the game began at the unusual time of 3:45 pm. This followed another instance where the kick-off was brought forward by five hours, shifting from 5:30pm to 12:30pm in November 2023.
As a result of this change to the Super Sunday showdown, United and Everton have also seen their time slot change to prevent fans from clashing during their travels. There have also been issues in the past between the two sets of fans attending Old Trafford too, with a clash in 2005 being labeled as the 'worst football violence ever to take place in Merseyside.'