Why is Manchester City vs Leeds on TV at 3pm this Saturday? Premier League forced to break blackout to broadcast clash

Manchester City welcome Leeds to the Etihad this weekend for a Saturday 3pm kick-off which will be broadcast on TV.

Normally, games aren't allowed to be shown in the UK from 2:45pm-5:15pm because of the English football blackout, but that has changed this weekend.

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City are one point clear of Arsenal at the top of the table and can extend that gap to four points by the time the Gunners play.

Meanwhile, Leeds are embroiled in a relegation battle and could find themselves in the bottom three after this one should they lose and results go against them.

And in their hour of need, they have turned to Sam Allardyce after sacking Javi Gracia.

Why is Man City vs Leeds on TV?

This match was meant to take place on Sunday, May 7 but has been moved because of the Citizens' game against Real Madrid in the Champions League the following Tuesday.

The 12:30pm slot isn't an option this weekend because of King Charles' coronation and a lack of police resources. The 5:30pm slot wasn't an option either as Liverpool are playing Brentford.

The match was originally selected for broadcast by Sky Sports, and after consultation with stakeholders, it was agreed the clash could be broadcast and break the blackout.

A Premier League statement read: "With Manchester City visiting Real Madrid in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League semi-finals on Tuesday 9 May, their home match with Leeds United has moved from Sunday 7 May to 15:00 BST on Saturday 6 May.

"The match will remain live on Sky Sports in the UK, subject to further consultation with relevant stakeholders regarding Article 48.

"The usual Saturday 12:30 BST UK live broadcast slot has been avoided so as not to clash with the King's Coronation.

"A later kick-off is not possible due to police resourcing."

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Man City vs Leeds: Date and how to follow

This Premier League game will take place on Saturday, May 6 and kick-off at the Etihad is scheduled for 3pm.

The match will be broadcast on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Premier League, with coverage scheduled to start at 2pm.

Sky Go customers will be able to stream the game through their laptop or mobile devices, while a NOW TV day-pass can be purchased for non-Sky customers for £11.99.

talkSPORT will have updates from Manchester throughout the afternoon on GameDay Live with Adrian Durham.

marvelbet369.com will have all of the post-match reaction from the Etihad.

To tune in to talkSPORT or talkSPORT 2 through the website, click HERE for the live stream.

You can also listen via the talkSPORT app, on DAB digital radio, through your smart speaker and on 1089 or 1053 AM.

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Man City vs Leeds: Team news

Man City XI: Ederson, Ake, Akanji, Gundogan, Laporte, Lewis, De Bruyne, Alvarez, Mahrez, Foden, Haaland.

Subs: Ortega, Walker, Dias, Phillips, Stones, Grealish, Rodri, Silva Gomez.

Leeds XI: Robles, Ayling, Firpo, Forshaw, Wober, Roca, Harrison, Kristensen, McKennie, Gnonto, Bamford.

Subs: Meslier, Koch, Aaronson, Summerville, Rodrigo, Struijk, Rutter, Greenwood, Gray.

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Man City vs Leeds: What has been said?

Before his return to first-team management was confirmed, Allardyce spoke exclusively to talkSPORT.

He said: “[I was] shocked, I never thought at this stage of the season, there would be jobs offered.

“When the phone popped up with a name that I knew pretty well, I knew who it was straight away. So it took me about two seconds to say yes.

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“Karl Robinson [joins]. And hopefully following will be another member of staff, maybe a bit more. We don’t know yet, but certainly Karl at this moment in time.”

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Man City vs Leeds: Match facts

• Man City have won their last three Premier League games against Leeds by an aggregate score of 14-1 – as many times as they'd beaten them in their previous 15 meetings in the competition (D5 L7).
• Leeds lost this exact fixture 7-0 last season, last losing consecutive away league games to Manchester City in April/November 1992.
• Manchester City have lost just two of their last 60 Premier League games in the Saturday 3pm kick-off slot (W50 D8), with both of those losses coming at home to Crystal Palace (December 2018 and October 2021).
• Leeds set a new Premier League record for goals conceded in a month during April, shipping 23 goals in seven games. It was the most by a top-flight side in one month since Birmingham City in April 1965 (also 23).
• Since their return to the Premier League in 2020, Leeds have won more games (5) and have a higher win rate (56%) in May than they do in any other month. However, they won just one of their four May games last season (D1 L2), beating Brentford on the final day to avoid relegation.
• Leeds lost four Premier League matches by three or more goals in April, having only done so once between August and March this season, losing 5-2 to Brentford in September. They were only the second side to suffer that many defeats by 3+ goals in a month in Premier League history, along with Swansea City in December 2016.
• New Leeds boss Sam Allardyce will be the first manager to take charge of nine different clubs in the Premier League. He's won his first game in charge at five of his previous eight clubs in the competition (D1 L2), though did lose most recently with West Bromwich Albion in December 2020.
• With one goal and three assists, Phil Foden has been involved in four goals in his last two Premier League starts for Manchester City against Leeds.
• Man City's Erling Haaland has scored 16 goals in 16 Premier League games on Saturdays this season. The last player to score more Saturday goals in a single campaign was Mohamed Salah (19 in 2017-18).
• 19-year-old Wilfried Gnonto has assisted three Premier League goals in his last six appearances in the competition and has four assists this season for Leeds – the only Whites player to assist more goals in a Premier League season as a teenager was Gary Kelly in 1993-94 (5).