Why Only One Premier League Match Is on Sunday This Weekend

Only One Premier League Match This Sunday — Because Villa Are in Barcelona on Tuesday

Liverpool versus Arsenal at 16:30 GMT is the sole Premier League fixture on Sunday, 1 November. The usual 14:00 slot is vacant because Aston Villa's home game against Fulham was brought forward to 20:00 on Saturday, freeing Unai Emery's side for their Champions League trip to Barcelona two days later.

Only Sunday fixture: Liverpool v Arsenal, 16:30 GMT, Sunday 1 November
Reason for shift: Aston Villa v Fulham moved to 20:00 on Saturday 31 October
Why Villa moved: Champions League match at Barcelona on Tuesday, 3 November
Broadcast: Sky Sports was due to show the 14:00 game and will show the rearranged kick-off
Saturday volume: Five matches at 15:00 plus kick-offs at 12:30, 17:30 and 20:00
Monday game: Newcastle United v Everton, 20:00 GMT, Monday 2 November

There will be no 14:00 GMT kick-off at all this Sunday, a slot that is one of the most frequently used in a typical Premier League weekend programme. Usually there is at least one match at that time, and this season there have at times been more, a knock-on effect of four Premier League clubs competing in the Europa League and Conference League on a Thursday evening.

Last weekend the pattern was the reverse: four matches were played early on Sunday and only two fixtures kicked off in the traditional Saturday 15:00 slot. This weekend will feature five games at 15:00 on Saturday, and only one on Sunday.

This weekend's Premier League fixtures

Saturday, 31 October

Chelsea v Manchester United (12:30)
Bournemouth v Leeds United (15:00)
Brentford v Nottingham Forest (15:00)
Coventry City v Sunderland (15:00)
Hull City v Ipswich (15:00)
Manchester City v Brighton & Hove Albion (15:00)
Tottenham Hotspur v Crystal Palace (17:30)
Aston Villa v Fulham (20:00)

Sunday, 1 November

Liverpool v Arsenal (16:30)

Monday, 2 November

Newcastle United v Everton (20:00)

All times in GMT.

Why Aston Villa vs Fulham was moved to Saturday night

Aston Villa's meeting with Fulham at Villa Park was the designated 14:00 match for Sunday afternoon. But because Unai Emery's side have a Champions League match at Barcelona two days later, on Tuesday, 3 November, the Fulham game has been brought forward to 20:00 on Saturday.

As Sky Sports was due to show the match in its initial slot, the broadcaster will also show the rearranged game. The switch means the Sunday schedule is reduced to a single top-flight fixture, with Liverpool and Arsenal the only Premier League sides in action that day.

A weekend reshaped by European commitments

The empty 14:00 slot is a direct consequence of European football. Aston Villa being in this season's Champions League gives them a Tuesday night at Barcelona, and the Premier League's scheduling has to protect that. Moving a Sunday afternoon fixture forward by six hours is the least disruptive solution available, and Sky Sports retains the game either way.

The ripple effect is felt across the weekend. Five games now sit at 15:00 on Saturday, the traditional slot that had been squeezed the previous weekend when only two matches took place there. Viewers get a heavy Saturday and a light Sunday — then a single Sunday showcase, Liverpool v Arsenal, in the late-afternoon 16:30 window.

That is the trade-off the calendar keeps forcing on the Premier League. When four English clubs are playing in the Europa League and Conference League on Thursday nights, Sunday early kick-offs multiply. When a Champions League side needs travel time, they vanish. The 2026-27 schedule will not escape this logic either.

Talking points

Is a Sunday with one match acceptable for the world's richest league, or should the Premier League protect the 14:00 window regardless of Villa's Barcelona trip?
Moving a Sunday game to Saturday 20:00 three days before a Champions League away day gives Villa a shorter turnaround than they wanted — does that actually help Unai Emery?
Five simultaneous 15:00 kick-offs on Saturday means the television audience is split across five games at once. Is that better or worse than spreading fixtures across Sunday?
Every fixture change ripples through travel plans for away supporters. Fulham fans heading to Villa Park now face a Saturday night journey — should clubs compensate for the disruption?

What happens next

All eyes move to Villa Park on Saturday evening, when Aston Villa host Fulham at 20:00 GMT knowing a Champions League trip to Barcelona follows on Tuesday, 3 November. The match was originally built for Sky Sports' Sunday 14:00 coverage and remains on the same broadcaster. Liverpool v Arsenal at 16:30 on Sunday then carries the entire weekend's top-flight attention, before Newcastle United v Everton close things out at 20:00 on Monday.

Frequently asked questions

Why is there only one Premier League match on Sunday?

Because Aston Villa's fixture against Fulham, which had been designated as the 14:00 Sunday game, was brought forward to 20:00 on Saturday so Villa can play their Champions League match at Barcelona on Tuesday, 3 November.