Manchester United star Bruno Fernandes has admitted that the bizarre 7pm kick-off time against Everton on Sunday will allow the Reds more time to recover after their Europa League clash against Omonia Nicosia on Thursday.
United's Premier League match against Everton is taking place at 7pm on Sunday night due to a logistical issue, which means the kick-off has to be outside the normal kick-off times reserved for Sundays.
The match was originally chosen by BT Sport as their Saturday lunchtime match, but as the Reds are in Europa League action on Thursday, they cannot play until Sunday at the earliest.
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With Sky Sports already showing two live games on Sunday afternoon (Crystal Palace vs Leeds at 2pm and Arsenal vs Leeds at 4:30pm), United's clash with the Toffees was moved to 7pm so that it can still be shown live.
While the kick-off time has not gone down well with supporters of either club, Portuguese international Fernandes has suggested that it will actually help him and his teammates to recover better after their long trip to Cyprus.
Asked if it was a good thing that the game had been pushed back, Fernandes told club media: "Yes, because normally in the last few years, we wouldn’t have had that much time to recover and they’d normally make us play at 12:30! Now we will have that time to recover to go to Everton, but the focus for now is on the next game in the Europa League."
Erik ten Hag's side will be looking for their second win in Europe when they face off against Omonia on Thursday night, with the Reds having lost to Real Sociedad and beaten FC Sheriff so far this term.
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