Chelsea’s home game with West Ham on Sunday has been moved forward to Saturday by the Premier League following the Champions League draw.
The game was due to be shown live by Sky Sports this Sunday. It will now take place on Saturday because the Blues face Dinamo Zagreb in Croatia in the Champions League on September 6.
Chelsea and West Ham United fan groups described the late date change as “totally unacceptable”.
“The lack of planning and foresight has had an awful impact on supporters,” said a joint statement issued by the Chelsea Supporters’ Trust and the West Ham United Supporters’ Trust.
“Tickets have been bought, accommodation has been booked, travel has been paid for and plans have been confirmed.”
The new date and time means the London derby will not now be shown live on television. Instead, Sky Sports will show Brighton’s home game with Leicester on Sunday — with no change to the date or kick-off time.
A Premier League statement said: “Previous amendment circulars had detailed a number of fixtures were subject to clubs’ Uefa Champions League participation — with fixture dates confirmed on Saturday morning.
“Further amendments following this will be confirmed in due course.”
Meanwhile, Chelsea winger Callum Hudson-Odoi is set to complete a loan move to Bayer Leverkusen for the rest of the season.
The 21-year-old England forward has not played for Chelsea this campaign and made 15 Premier League appearances last season. He travelled to Germany on Monday for a medical, with an announcement expected in the next 24 hours.
German champions Bayern Munich had a £35m bid for Hudson-Odoi turned down in 2019. He signed a five-year deal worth more than £120,000 a week with the Blues in September 2019 but has failed to earn a regular starting place since injuring his Achilles in the same year.
