Why Liverpool still have 12.30pm kickoff despite new post-Champions League rules

Liverpool will play Crystal Palace in a 12.30pm kickoff after their Champions League clash with Bologna, despite a change of rules to avoid a similar buildup.

The Premier League confirmed on Monday that the Reds’ clash with Chelsea at Anfield had been moved back to Sunday, October 20, kicking off at 4.30pm.

That means there will be an even longer wait between fixtures around the October international break.

Liverpool’s final game before the second break of the season will be their 12.30pm kickoff away to Crystal Palace on Saturday, October 5.

And though that early start lands after a Champions League clash with Bologna at Anfield on the Wednesday night, it does not contravene Premier League rules against such a tight turnaround.

It was agreed ahead of the 2021/22 season that no clubs playing on a Wednesday night in the Champions League would be scheduled for an early kickoff in the Premier League on the Saturday.

That has since been tweaked to only cover teams playing away in Europe, and with Liverpool at home against Bologna there is no such issue.

In theory, Arne Slot‘s side should then have Thursday to recover and Friday to train as normal, though their preparations will be complicated by the need to travel down to London before Saturday.

While it is far from ideal, it is a situation Slot and his staff will need to get used to, particularly given how often Liverpool are selected for early kickoffs.

Under Jurgen Klopp, the Reds were given more early kickoffs than any other Premier League club (45), with only 22 victories from those games as their win rate dropped considerably.

Slot’s first game in charge was, of course, a 12.30pm kickoff away to Ipswich, with the new head coach beginning plans for that trip with an early start in the pre-season friendly against Sevilla at Anfield.

The maximum number of early kickoff slots a single Premier League side can be given per season is currently six, with Liverpool already dealt a third of that quota.