Why is the Man Utd vs Liverpool match kicking off at an unusual time today?

Manchester United and Liverpool will face off at Old Trafford today, with Arne Slot aiming to secure his third consecutive victory in the Premier League.

Slot replaced Jurgen Klopp this summer and the new Liverpool head coach has enjoyed a positive start, with his team defeating both Ipswich Town and Brentford.

There is a huge test coming up today, though, as Liverpool face their fierce rivals United, who are keen to get back to winning ways after losing 2-1 to Brighton.

Interestingly, United and Liverpool’s match was meant to kick off at 4.30pm BST but it has now been pushed back 30 minutes to 4pm. But why is that the case? And why isn’t it being played at the other usual time of 2pm? Read on to find out.

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The reason for the match being moved from 4.30pm to 4pm is due to the immense rivalry between the clubs, with police and local authorities keen to avoid fan trouble and disorder.

Police research has shown that moving matches – even by a small amount of time – has a positive impact on reducing crowd trouble.

Last season, when United played Liverpool in the FA Cup quarter-finals, the match was given an unusual 3.30pm kick-off time in an effort to reduce crowd issues.

Football pundit Darren Bent has urged Erik ten Hag to bring Alejandro Garnacho into the XI against Liverpool, with the Argentine only coming off the bench in United’s opening two Premier League matches.

‘Garnacho has got to start,’ former Premier League star Bent said on talkSPORT. ‘He’s got to start. If that means dropping Marcus Rashford then so be it. He has to start. I would play Garnacho, [Amad] Diallo and [Joshua] Zirkzee as the front three.

‘Erik ten Hag can only protect Rashford for so long. He’s giving him every opportunity to succeed even though he’s not been playing well for a while. Garnacho changed the game in the Community Shield final, he was incredible.

‘The energy against Fulham was great. He had a goal against Brighton that was unfortunately ruled out for that offside. He is now ready to go. As a manager, I get he’s trying to be loyal and give Rashford the chance to find his form again. But you risk losing a part of Garnacho if you keep overlooking him. 

‘In the end he’s going to get annoyed and the fans are going to get annoyed too. That has to be the front three going forward. What has Rashford shown so far? Why does he deserve to be in the team instead of Garnacho? 

‘Garnacho is so hungry to do well, he’s direct and always shows some quality. There’s no reason why Rashford should be ahead of him. I would love to hear Erik ten Hag’s reasoning but I can’t see it. At the minute Rashford is occupying a spot when there’s someone young, hungry and ready to go in that position.’