This Friday’s Premier League match between Nottingham Forest and Sheffield United won’t be broadcast live on TV for an odd reason.
The first match of every weekend is usually a Friday night game that is shown on Sky Sports, wherever it may be played.
Following losses the previous weekend, Forest will play Sheffield United on Friday at the City Ground in an effort to earn their first points of the year.
While the Blades lost to Crystal Palace at home, Forest was defeated 2-1 at Arsenal.
The success of Steve Cooper’s team at home, where they won eight out of a possible nine games played at the City Ground, helped them secure Premier League survival last season.
This time, however, they will begin their home campaign a little earlier than expected.
Why isn’t Sheffield United vs. Nottingham Forest on television?
The game between Nottingham Forest and Sheffield United was originally scheduled for Saturday, August 19, at 3 p.m.
Though it is not directly related to the event, it had to be rescheduled due to concerns of severe traffic congestion.
The Trent Bridge cricket venue, where Nottinghamshire and the Trent Rockets play in The Hundred, is not far from The City venue.
On Saturday, there will be a Hundred doubleheader at the stadium, with games between the Rockets and Birmingham Phoenix for the men’s and women’s teams.
In order to reduce traffic, the local government has shifted the Forest vs. Sheffield United game to Friday night.
Despite being in the customarily televised Friday night slot, the game cannot be broadcast on television because it has been rescheduled.
This is so that postponed games can’t be broadcast on TV if they weren’t originally chosen to be. As a result, this weekend’s Friday night football for Premier League spectators will be missed. Instead, there will be two games on Saturday night.
However, it spares both sports fans in Nottingham from a terrible matchup, allowing them to watch Forest vs. Sheffield United on the Friday before watching players like Moeen Ali, Liam Livingstone, and Nat Sciver-Brunt compete at Trent Bridge on the following day.