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Newcastle United have announced a rather unique scheduling decision for their upcoming Premier League match against Chelsea at St James’ Park.
The game could prove to be crucial in the battle for Champions League qualification this season as, at the time of the announcement, Newcastle sat just one point above Chelsea in the table with nine games left to play.
Newcastle host The Blues at St James’ Park on the weekend of Saturday, May 10. But the time and date is subject to change after the match was selected for live television coverage by TNT Sports.
As things stand, the St James’ Park fixture will now kick off on Saturday, May 10 at 12:30pm. The kick-off time and date will change to Sunday, May 11 and 12pm should Chelsea progress to the UEFA Conference League semi-final.
Chelsea face Legia Warsaw in the Conference League quarter final later this month and should they progress, they will face either Djurgårdens IF or Rapid Wien in the semi-final. The semi-final first and second legs will be played on Thursday May 1 and May 8 respectively.
Newcastle United statement confirms fixture change
Newcastle statement on the club website read: “Newcastle United's penultimate home game of the 2024/25 Premier League season against Chelsea has a new kick-off time after being selected for live television coverage.
“Eddie Howe's side host Enzo Maresca's Blues at St. James' Park on Saturday, 10 May but the league clash will now kick-off at 12.30pm BST, which will be shown live on TNT Sports.
“The game will be moved to Sunday, 11 May, remaining live on TNT Sports, should Chelsea be scheduled to play in the UEFA Conference League [kick-off 12pm BST] the preceding Thursday.
“Any further alterations to United's fixture schedule will be confirmed on newcastleunited.com in due course.
Newcastle United v Chelsea head to head
Newcastle beat a weakened Chelsea side 2-0 at St James’ Park en route to winning the Carabao Cup. Enzo Maresca’s side had beaten The Magpies 2-1 at Stamford Bridge just a few days earlier.
But Newcastle’s form at home to Chelsea in recent seasons has been strong. In three home matches against Chelsea under Howe, Newcastle have won all three with an aggregate score of seven goals to one.
In addition to the 2-0 cup win at St James’ Park back in October, Newcastle beat Chelsea 4-1 at home last season and 1-0 the season prior. Chelsea’s last win at Newcastle came early in the 2021-22 season with a 3-0 victory prior to Howe’s appointment.
Newcastle have already qualified for next season’s Conference League at least by winning the Carabao Cup but will be looking to improve on that with a return to Champions League football.
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