Chelsea vs Manchester City FA Cup semi-final date and time moved: All you need to know
While all eyes were on Manchester United’s shocking and dramatic win over Liverpool, many forgot that Chelsea also played on the same day. The Blues beat Leicester City 4-2 but it was far from convincing as it took late goals from Carney Chukwuemeka and Noni Madueke to finish things off. A red card to Leicester’s Callum Doyle helped that and it effectively ensured that the Foxes had no chance but to stay on the backfoot.
But while the Red Devils face shock semi-finalists in Coventry City, Chelsea go up against Manchester City in what many are claiming to be an easy fixture for the Cityzens. However, the pre-match talk hasn’t been about the game but rather about how the Metropolitan Police has deemed the fixture between Coventry City and United a high-risk event. So much so, that it has forced the English FA’s hand and they have moved forward the kick-off time for the semi-final.
Chelsea vs Manchester City FA Cup semi-final kick off time revealed by FA
The kick-off times for both games have been revealed with Chelsea vs Manchester City kicking off at 5:15 pm on the 20th of April. However, the second FA Cup semi-final is set to kick off at 3:30 pm on Sunday 21 April after the Metropolitan Police asked for it to be brought forward. That, at the time of writing, hasn’t affected Chelsea’s semi-final clash but the Daily Mail has reported that the Met expressed public order concern over the second semi-final.
However, the decision to do so has frustrated broadcasters like BBC and ITV in the UK as late kick-off times attract bigger television audiences than the early ones. The late kick-off times have been the norm in the FA Cup in the past until this season with the Carabao Cup final brought forward as well. It has, as a result, seen many raise an eye at the Met’s decision to mark United v Coventry as high-risk.