Why are Liverpool playing Luton Town on Wednesday night? Reason Premier League match was rescheduled

Dom Farrell

Why are Liverpool playing Luton Town on Wednesday night? Reason Premier League match was rescheduled image

Liverpool will try to solidify their position at the top of the Premier League when they host Luton Town on Wednesday at Anfield.

Jurgen Klopp's side turned in an impressive display as they swept Brentford aside 4-1 last weekend, although Manchester City could cut their advantage at the summit to a single point if they beat the same opponents at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday.

Liverpool are not back in European action until the UEFA Europa League Round of 16 later this month, although Wednesday is a Champions League match night — one the Reds will hope to be part of this time next season, with qualification looking very likely at this stage of 2023/24.

So, why are Klopp's men in action at a time when the continent's premier competition is also going on? The Sporting News explains the reason behind this week's schedule, with the Carabao Cup final looming on the horizon during a busy time for the Merseysiders.

MORE: English Premier League table 2023/24

Why are Liverpool playing Luton Town on Wednesday night?

Liverpool were due to host Luton this coming weekend of February 24.

However, their progression to the Carabao Cup final at Wembley, where they face Chelsea on February 25, means the game had to be moved.

Handily, the free midweek slot has meant minimal disruptions to the schedule. City's game against Brentford on Tuesday, February 20 is their game in hand re-arranged due to December's FIFA Club World Cup commitments.

However, Liverpool playing a day later means Pep Guardiola's side will effectively play their game in hand this weekend at Bournemouth as Klopp's squad prepare for Wembley.

Getty Images

UEFA prefers to have exclusivity during its matchweeks, meaning the Premier League had to seek approval to stage Liverpool vs. Luton at the same time as Champions League fixtures.

However, there are examples of such special dispensation being granted over recent years and Liverpool vs. Luton Town will kick off on Wednesday, February 21 at 7:30 p.m. local time (2:30 p.m. ET), half an hour before the Champions League fixtures get underway. Wednesday's games see Porto host Arsenal, while Napoli take on Barcelona.

Liverpool vs Luton kick off time

Here's how that time translates across some of the major territories:

  Date Kickoff time
USA Wed, Feb. 21 2:30 p.m. ET
Canada Wed, Feb. 21 2:30 p.m. ET
UK Wed, Feb. 21 7:30 p.m. GMT
Australia Thu, Feb. 22 6:30 a.m. AEDT
India Thu, Feb. 22 1:00 a.m. IST

Liverpool vs Luton live stream, TV channel

Here's how to watch this Premier League match across selected areas of the world's major regions:

Region TV Streaming
USA NBC USA Network, Universo Fubo, Universo NOW, Telemundo Deportes En Vivo, NBC Sports App
Canada

Fubo Canada

UK
Australia Optus Sport
India Star Sports Select 1 JioTV, Hotstar

USA: This game is available on the USA Network with streaming options on Fubo. Telemundo and Universo provide Spanish language options.

Canada: Every Premier League game this season is live-streaming exclusively via Fubo.

Australia: Fans in Australia can stream every match live and on-demand on Optus Sport.

UK: This game is not available for live broadcast in the UK with talkSPORT providing live radio commentary.

Dom Farrell

Dom Farrell Photo

Dom is the senior content producer for Sporting News UK. He previously worked as fan brands editor for Manchester City at Reach Plc. Prior to that, he built more than a decade of experience in the sports journalism industry, primarily for the Stats Perform and Press Association news agencies. Dom has covered major football events on location, including the entirety of Euro 2016 and the 2018 World Cup in Paris and St Petersburg respectively, along with numerous high-profile Premier League, Champions League and England international matches. Cricket and boxing are his other major sporting passions and he has covered the likes of Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury, Wladimir Klitschko, Gennadiy Golovkin and Vasyl Lomachenko live from ringside.