Why Wolves have a strange kick-off time of 2.05 pm against Aston Villa on Sunday

Wolves’ fixture against Aston Villa is not at the usual 2pm slot on Sunday; instead, they will kick off five minutes later.

Rob Edwards will be looking to get his first win as Wolves boss, and it would be the Old Gold’s first of the Premier League season.

A tricky test in a West Midlands derby is not an ideal fixture for that to happen in, but Wolves have had luck in this showdown before.

Unai Emery is not letting Wolves’ form affect him, as he still expects a tough test against the Wanderers.

And that test kicks off at the strangely specific time of 2.05pm.

Crystal Palace’s Conference League game forced broadcasters to change kick-off times

Looking at the fixture calendar, the 2.05pm kick-off for Aston Villa vs Wolves sticks out like a sore thumb, and there is a good reason for the odd change.

The change actually has nothing to do with either side, but everything to do with TV coverage.

The reason behind Aston Villa vs Wolves kicking off at 2.05pm is actually to do with TV rights holders, as per BBC Sport.

TNT Sports had selected Crystal Palace vs Manchester United as one of their games to cover over the season, and due to the Eagles playing in Europe on Thursday night, they could not play in the broadcasters’ usual 12.30pm slot on Saturday.

The Premier League aims to give teams at least 60 hours’ rest between games, and the game falling in that timeframe would not have allowed that.

• READ MORE: Wolves predicted XI vs Aston Villa as Rob Edwards goes with one striker up top

This meant the game was pushed to early Sunday to give Oliver Glasner’s side adequate rest between games.

A game at a later date in the week is not possible due to midweek Premier League fixtures taking place after this weekend.

This kick-off time then had a knock-on effect on the rest of Sunday’s fixtures. The games that were meant to start at 2pm, including Aston Villa vs Wolves, were pushed by five minutes to ensure there was no overlap between the matches.

A first win would be huge in a fixture like this

If Wolves can get a win over the line, the confidence boost would be absolutely huge.

Derby games can have a lot of surprises, and Alan Shearer, while predicting Wolves to lose, is not ruling out an upset. The reason? Form goes out the window in games like these.

While fans believe Tolu Arokodare is approaching this match with the wrong mindset, Rob Edwards is sure to let players know how big this fixture is.

A victory over a rival can be a momentum changer, and sometimes that is all a team needs to go on a run of results.

Let’s hope the Old Gold can shock the Premier League.