Carabao Cup: Chelsea v Liverpool final to kick off at 3pm on police advice

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Virgil van Dijk of Liverpool and Chelsea's Kai Harvertz during the 2022 Carabao Cup final between Liverpool at and ChelseaImage source, Getty Images
Image caption,

The 2022 Carabao Cup final between Liverpool and Chelsea kicked off at 16:30 GMT

The Carabao Cup final between Liverpool and Chelsea at Wembley on Sunday, 25 February will now kick off at 15:00 GMT on police advice.

The match was originally scheduled to kick-off at 16:30 but has been designated a 'high-risk' fixture.

The fixture kicked off at 16:30 when the two clubs met in the final in 2022, but there has since been a change in the way police manage such matches.

The EFL said, external it was "disappointed" at the switch "at this late stage".

The last EFL Cup final which started at 15:00 or earlier was in 2014, when Manchester City beat Sunderland in a game that kicked off at 14:00.

Last year's final between Manchester United and Newcastle kicked off at 16:30.

The kick-off change could have implications for the Premier League match between Wolves and Sheffield United that is scheduled to be played at Molineux the same day.

Sky Sports are the rights holders for both matches, with the league game currently set to start at 13:30.

Image source, BBC Sport
Image source, BBC Sport