Why Sheffield United v Chelsea has been given a bizarre new kick-off time

The game had initially been scheduled to get underway at 1:30pm, ahead of Liverpool’s trip to Manchester United. However, it has been pushed back by four hours.

A statement issued by the Premier League read: “The Premier League fixture between Sheffield United and Chelsea has been moved from 13:30 to 17:30 BST on Sunday 7 April. This is due to a request from the home club. This kick-off time has been selected to allow adequate return travel for visiting supporters.”

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The change has been made due to the Sheffield Half Marathon, which is scheduled to take place on the same day and cause a number of road closures.

Due to the inconvenience caused for travelling supporters, the Chelsea Supporters’ Trust has confirmed a compensation scheme is in place for those who booked non-refundable travel.

A statement by the trust read: "We are pleased to confirm that a compensation scheme will be set up for those left out of pocket by the decision to re-arrange Sheffield United v Chelsea on April 7th 2024.

"The scheme will look to compensate those who had purchased non-refundable train tickets and will be set up by Sheffield United following a proposal put to them by The Chelsea Supporters' Trust.

"This is great news and we would like to thank SUFC and the Premier League for their support on this initiative. This is the first compensation scheme of this nature to be set up."