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Why crucial Man Utd and Liverpool games can’t be shown on TV in the UK this weekend
Both Liverpool and Manchester United play on Saturday afternoon, with both of their matches having big implications in the race to qualify for next season’s Champions League.
The race to finish in the Premier League’s top four will reach its climax in the coming weeks, with Liverpool hoping to overtake Manchester United and Newcastle and reach the Champions League
The Reds have overturned a 12-point deficit since April 9 and now sit just a single point behind Man United, albeit with the Red Devils holding a game in hand over their arch-rivals. Since then, seven wins in a row have seen them pile serious pressure on their rivals, making Champions League qualification a distinct possibility.
United, meanwhile, have faltered in the league in recent weeks and have lost two of their last three matches. Both of those defeats were away from home and they are on the road once again this weekend with a trip to the South Coast to face a Bournemouth side who beat United 1-0 on their last visit to the Vitality Stadium.
Liverpool face Aston Villa at Anfield, with the hope of maintaining their good form against a side who have lost two of their last three matches. However, Unai Emery’s side remain in the hunt for European qualification themselves following their win against Tottenham last weekend.
Despite the huge prize for both sides to play for, only those who attend the matches will be able to watch live in the UK, with no TV coverage of either fixture on British TV. Newcastle are a point ahead of Man United in the race, with their match against relegation Leicester City being selected as the Monday Night Football fixture for Sky Sports at 8pm on Monday.
Here is why there will be no live TV coverage of either game:
Why Man Utd and Liverpool games can’t be shown on TV:
Neither match has been selected for live TV coverage by either BT Sport or Sky Sports, with both Arsenal and Manchester City being preferred due their title race being closely contested when the fixtures were chosen.
This means that both matches will be shown at 3pm on Saturday afternoon, with this falling under the long-established TV blackout. The blackout means that no football can be shown on British TV between 2:45pm and 5:15pm.
There has long been controversy surrounding the blackout, with fans in England being unable to watch their team at 3pm on a Saturday while 189 countries around the world are able to do so instead.
However, the rule remains in place due to it encouraging fans to attend matches in person throughout the football pyramid, providing valuable revenue for lower-league clubs.
The EFL regular season has now drawn to a close, with the play-offs underway for all three divisions, with non-league also having concluded, leaving the Premier League as the only regular professional league in the country still running.
