Nottingham Forest vs Brighton: Peculiar Premier League kick-off time explained
Premier League: Nottingham Forest vs Brighton and Hove Albion from the City Ground
Brighton fans will have noted a slightly odd kick-off time as they prepare for Nottingham Forest in the Premier League this Sunday.
Instead of the standard 2pm slot, the Seagulls will kick-off at the City Ground five minutes later at 2.05pm.
Aston Villa vs Wolves at Villa Park and West Ham vs Liverpool at the London Stadium will do likewise.
The five-minute pushback for all these Sunday matches is due to TV scheduling.
The three Sunday fixtures will be screened live on Sky Sports but planners were keen to avoid clashes with Crystal Palace vs Manchester United, which starts at 12 noon from Selhurst Park and is broadcast by TNT Sports.
The change will not make too much difference to Brighton fans as they make their journey to Nottingham, or prepare their Sunday afternoon viewing from the sofa.
The main concern will be that Fabian Hurzeler’s team avoid another thrashing at Forest after last season’s 7-0 defeat at the City Ground.
Hinshelwood: That Forest loss still hurts
That painful defeat will no doubt be in the minds of the Albion players as they look to continue their decent run form. Brighton are sixth in the Premier League after last Saturday’s 2-1 win against Brentford and will hope to continue their upward trajectory at Sean Dyche’s improving Forest team.
Brighton midfielder Jack Hinshelwood, who scored last week’s winner against Brentford, said: “I think obviously we're in a different place now, but it still hurts me to this day, that game, the way that the game panned out.
“And so, yeah, it's definitely still hurting me. So I think as well as the other lads.
“So we're going to go down next week and if we can show the same character that we did today, I'm sure we can get a positive result.”
Dyche’s men are 16th but last weekend they impressed as they beat Premier League champions Liverpool 3-0 at Anfield.
For your next Albion read: 'Can you name them?' - Fabian Hurzeler's Brighton XI who were smashed 7-0 at Nottingham Forest last season