The Premier League will host two 7pm kick-off games this Sunday evening as Chelsea hosts Brentford and Tottenham travel to Southampton.

Both games have been postponed to Sunday as Chelsea and Tottenham take part in the European Cup on Thursday evening – but fans are unhappy with the evening kick-off date.

The Premier League gave Chelsea permission to postpone the game until 7pm as Enzo Maresca’s side made the eight-hour, 3,700-mile journey home from Almaty in southern Kazakhstan on Thursday after beating Astana 3-1 in the Europa Conference League. Given Chelsea’s exceptionally long journey, the Premier League granted the Blues extra time to recover before hosting Brentford – although Maresca was able to leave several first-team stars, such as Cole Palmer, at home.

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Tottenham will also kick off at the same time as Ange Postecoglou’s side travel to Southampton. The Postecoglou-Russell Martin clash – an entertaining high-wire duel between two attack-minded coaches, dubbed the Principles of the Game derby – was selected for live broadcast by TNT Sports.

However, as Spurs face Rangers in the Europa League at Ibrox on Thursday evening, the broadcaster’s usual kick-off time of 12.30pm on Saturday afternoon could not be used. And since Sky Sports is already showing the games on Sunday at the usual times of 2:00 p.m. and 4:30 p.m., TNT only had the choice between 12:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. While Chelsea could say they needed more preparation time after traveling back from Kazakhstan, Spurs could say the 12pm option was not suitable due to their game in Glasgow.

The Sunday slot at 7 p.m. is unusual and was originally introduced only as an “emergency” option. It was used almost weekly during the 2020/21 Covid season, which was played behind closed doors and with every game on television as fans were unable to attend games, but the Football Supporters’ Association has warned that it was becoming increasingly widespread to. For example, Manchester United’s trip to Fulham on Sunday, January 26th has also been postponed to 7 p.m. Another away game for United, on the weekend of 22/23. February at Everton, could also be postponed until Sunday evening depending on whether they take part in a play-off for the knockout stages of the Europa League.

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“The Sunday evening kick-off date is very unpopular with matchgoers as public transport is limited and it is not suitable for families with young children,” an FSA spokesman said. “When the general slot was announced the Premier League told us it was an ’emergency’ – but it appears there is a lot of use made of such a provision.

“A big part of the problem is giving broadcasters the ability to select ‘conditional’ picks, which are then moved if a team makes progress in Europe. The Premier League is putting broadcasters first by allowing them to select such games, knowing that the conditional selections will most likely be postponed again.”

The increase in 7pm kick-off times is also due to the expansion of UEFA competitions this season. The increase in Champions League and Europa League fixtures, with two additional games in the league’s first phase, has added to an already busy schedule for top-flight clubs, who are beginning to find the Premier League more receptive to offering more recovery time. There will now be a ‘rest period’ of at least 60 hours between games over the festive period, while teams playing away Champions League games on a Wednesday evening will now have the option of playing on Saturday evening instead of the usual 12.30pm resistance was made by former Liverpool coach Jürgen Klopp, who described it as a “crime”.

However, the clubs would of course like more rest periods. Tottenham would have had 62 hours between the game at Ibrox and the game against Southampton at St Mary’s if kick-off had been at 12pm on Sunday. Manchester United would have had the same turnaround time between welcoming Rangers and traveling to south London to meet Fulham next month, but they could also push back Sunday’s kick-off to 7pm.

This will come at a cost to fans as the last train back to Manchester leaves well before the final whistle, although the club will subsidize bus travel. If this move is indicative of a common set of circumstances, it also feels like this is the beginning of a normalization of a broader trend.