The Premier League has quietly dropped a fairly hefty update to the early-year match calendar, revealing a wave of fixture adjustments that will run from the second half of January into the first days of February.
It’s the usual cocktail of broadcast demands, European commitments and the general chaos of a packed season all colliding at once.
Broadcasters Shuffle the Deck
TV partners have now selected their preferred match-ups across a total of 19 games scheduled between 17 January and 2 February.
With several teams still juggling European competitions, broadcasters have had to reshape the calendar so they can squeeze in the most attractive fixtures without clashing with midweek continental duties.
It’s the same puzzle every winter—clubs trying to keep up, fans trying to plan around changes, and broadcasters making sure their biggest moments fall into prime viewing slots.
Manchester Derby Takes Centre Stage
Among all the tweaks, the headline shift is easily the Manchester derby.
Instead of its original slot, the clash between United and City has been pulled into a 12:30pm kick-off on Saturday, 17 January.
Sky Sports will carry the match live, no surprise there—it’s the kind of fixture broadcasters try to anchor their entire weekend around.
The move may ruffle a few feathers, especially for fans hoping for a later start, but it’s become pretty standard for marquee showdowns to get reshuffled in the name of TV coverage.
More Updates on the Way
The league has signalled that additional information will follow, so supporters keeping track of midwinter plans may want to hold off finalising travel arrangements just yet.
With Europe, domestic cups, and broadcast windows all overlapping, this probably isn’t the last time January’s football calendar gets nudged.
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