The reason why Man United vs Sheffield United isn’t on TV

Only one Premier League game is available to watch

Wednesday will see the Merseyside derby at Goodison Park alongside Wolves vs Bournemouth and Crystal Palace vs Newcastle as well as the fixture at Old Trafford but unsurprisingly, Everton vs Liverpool will be on TV.

Both the Blades and Red Devils are in desperate need of points for different reasons as the home side look to perform a miracle and avoid relegation whereas United have won only one of their last seven Premier League games and only just beat Coventry City on penalties last weekend.

United won't be on TV

Despite the fact some of you will be keen to see if Erik ten Hag's side are embarrassed again, the game won't be available to watch on TV.

This is because of the 3pm blackout - even though the game is 8pm on a Wednesday.

At the time the game was originally scheduled it hadn't been picked for live TV coverage and because Sky Sports and TNT Sports have a limited number of Premier League games they can broadcast per year, the derby had already been selected as priority.

Why do we have the TV blackout?

Quite simply, it's to allow lower league clubs the best chance to improve their attendances.

Fans of clubs, particularly in the Premier League, will often go and watch sides at lower levels in the Football League and non-league games.

The rule itself was first introduced in the 1960s, largely when clubs relied on gate receipts as their main source of income.

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