Why Chelsea and Tottenham's Sunday kick-off times are earlier than usual

Premier League action returns this weekend with Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur both in action on Sunday afternoon.

Enzo Maresca's Chelsea host Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge, while Spurs welcome London rivals Fulham to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Both will be hoping to keep the pace at the top end of the table, with Liverpool currently leading the way on 31 points.

Typically, Sunday afternoon kick-offs get underway at 2pm or 4:30pm, but this weekend the three earlier games begin at 1:30pm, while Liverpool's clash with Manchester City is scheduled for 4pm. While no official reason has been given for the change to the earlier kick-offs, the later game between Liverpool and City has been moved due to its status as a high risk fixture and Merseyside Police's concerns over fan safety.

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The earlier games have likely been moved to avoid any crossover with the TV coverage, as Chelsea's game against Villa is also part of Sky Sports' Super Sunday. Chelsea and Villa were both in European action midweek as the hosts secured a 2-0 UEFA Europa Conference League victory over Bundesliga side Heidenheim.

Villa, on the other hand, played out a 0-0 draw against Serie A giants Juventus in the Champions League on Wednesday to leave their automatic qualification hopes in the balance. Spurs, who take on Fulham at home this weekend, drew 2-2 with Roma in the Europa League courtesy of goals from Son Heung-min and Brennan Johnson.

However, the late equaliser for Claudio Ranieri's side from Mats Hummels leaves Ange Postecoglou's side with work to do to automatically qualify for the knockout stages.