Why Man United, Chelsea and Tottenham are in action on Friday night - kick-off details explained
Manchester United will take on Chelsea ahead of next week’s Europa League final
Manchester United and three other Premier League teams are in action on Friday night in a rare double-header.
Usually, only one game is featured as part of Sky Sports' Friday Night Football, but this time around, United will take on Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, while Tottenham travel to the West Midlands to face Aston Villa. In addition to Ruben Amorim's team, Spurs and Chelsea have their eyes on bigger priorities.
United and Spurs will face each other in the Europa League final while Chelsea will take on Real Betis in the Europa Conference League final.
But why are all four teams playing on a Friday night? Here, MEN Sport brings you all the information you need to know.
Why the Friday night kick-off?
The Reds' match was originally scheduled for Friday, but following a request from Spurs, their Premier League moved their game against Villa forward.
Spurs' match was initially scheduled for Sunday afternoon (May 18), which would have given them just 72 hours' rest before the final on May 21.
As a result, Spurs requested their game be rescheduled to the same evening as United's, who would otherwise have had extra days of rest.
Furthermore, last season the Premier League and Football Association reached an agreement to set aside a specific day for the men’s FA Cup final, ensuring no Premier League fixtures take place on Saturday.
The FA Cup final between Manchester City and Crystal Palace will take place at Wembley Stadium on Saturday afternoon, kicking off at 4.30pm.
When announcing details for this season’s final, the FA stated the fixture would be held on an ‘exclusive Saturday’ with no Premier League matches scheduled until Sunday, and no top-flight games the night before, to ensure full focus on the build-up to the showpiece event.
In a statement confirming changes to this season’s Cup, the FA said last year: "The Emirates FA Cup Final will now take place on the penultimate weekend of the Premier League season, on an exclusive Saturday with no Premier League fixtures taking place on the same day.
"Additionally, there will be no Premier League games on the Friday night before the final, to allow focus on the build-up to the showpiece event."
On Sunday, Chelsea and United will meet in the Women’s FA Cup final. As a result, both clubs asked for their Premier League fixture to be moved to avoid detracting from their women’s teams.
Here at The Manchester Evening News, we are dedicated to bringing you the best Manchester United coverage and analysis.
Make sure you don't miss out on the latest United news by joining our free WhatsApp group.
You can get all the breaking news and best analysis sent straight to your phone by clicking here to subscribe.
You can also subscribe to our free newsletter service. Click here to be sent all the day's biggest stories.
And, finally, if you would rather listen to our expert analysis then make sure to check out our Manchester is Red podcast, featuring The Samuel Luckhurst Show and The Midweek Debate.