Premier League opening day clash already moved just SIX days after fixtures were released as another sport handed priority
Nottingham Forest 's Premier League opening day clash with Brentford has already been rescheduled just six days after the league's fixtures were released.
Nuno Espírito Santo's side were originally set to welcome the Bees on Saturday August 16.
But the encounter has been pushed back a day to avoid it coinciding with The Hundred which is taking place at Trent Bridge.
The stadium, home to the Trent Rockets, is located just 200m away from the City Ground and the game is being pushed back to avoid overcrowding in the city centre.
The fixture will be one of three games played on Sunday on the opening weekend and will take place at 2pm.
It will be televised on Sky Sports alongside Chelsea v Crystal Palace and Manchester United v Arsenal.
It means only three Premier League fixtures, Brighton v Fulham, Sunderland v West Ham and Tottenham v Burnley, will kick off at the traditional Saturday 3pm slot.
Liverpool host Bournemouth on the Friday night, with Aston Villa taking on Newcastle at Saturday lunchtime.
While Man City travel to Wolves at 5:30pm on Saturday, with newly-promoted Leeds hosting Everton on Monday evening.
Brentford came out 2-0 winners when they visited Forest last season, with goals from Kevin Schade and Yoane Wissa either side of half-time securing three points for west Londoners.
Brentford are still yet to appoint a new manager after Thomas Frank left to join Spurs.
Their set-piece coach Keith Andrews is now viewed as the frontrunner to take over at the Gtech Community Stadium.
Meanwhile, Forest will compete in the Europa Conference League next season after finishing in seventh in the league last season.
The Premier League is supposed to provide fans with at least six weeks' notice for any fixture changes.
But they have been forced to issue a warning to supporters that games could be changed at 'relatively short notice' in the upcoming campaign due to a record number of teams competing in Europe.
Liverpool, Arsenal, City, Chelsea, Newcastle and Spurs will play in the Champions League next season.
While Aston Villa and Crystal Palace have qualified for the Europa League.
'While the Premier League celebrates this success, it will come with an impact on the scheduling of league matches,' a statement from the Premier League said.
'There is an increased likelihood of Premier League fixtures moving at relatively short notice, after our fixture announcements, should our clubs progress to the knockout rounds of these competitions.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mirror
16 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
Tottenham transfer got ‘cancelled by angry club' after medical due to clause row
Tottenham were on the verge of signing Fulham striker Moussa Dembele in January 2016, but the deal was dramatically cancelled at the last minute despite the player wanting the move Tottenham were once close to signing Fulham's Moussa Dembele - only for the transfer to be scrapped at the eleventh hour after the forward had already completed his medical. In January 2016, Spurs were hot on the heels of rivals Arsenal and surprise Premier League contenders Leicester City in their pursuit of a first Premier League title. Spurs had Harry Kane in their ranks following his incredible breakthrough 18 months earlier. Yet club chairman Levy identified the need to strengthen the side's attacking options and provide support for Kane as they sought to compete in the second half of the season. Fulham 's promising striker, Dembele - not to be confused with Spurs' own dynamic midfielder at the time - was subsequently targeted as Spurs' main January target. Levy negotiated a bargain £6million deal with Fulham for the then-19-year-old, whose contract was due to run out that summer. Dembele even passed a Spurs medical two days before the January transfer deadline, with the move seemingly a done deal. However, the West Londoners were keen for their talented youngster to return to Craven Cottage until the end of the 2015/16 season due to their efforts to battle relegation and a transfer embargo that left them unable to sign any replacements in January. They hoped to agree a deal that would still see them receive a fee for Dembele despite him becoming a free agent at the end of the season. Spurs, however, were unimpressed by Fulham's demands and insisted he be allowed to join their squad immediately. The Guardian reported that the disagreement led to Fulham 'angrily' cancelling the deal with Tottenham. Negotiations were not revived, and the forward was said to be left bitterly disappointed. The Lilywhites didn't end up buying a player in January and finished third that season, while Leicester City remarkably clinched the league title with a ten-point margin. In the following summer, Spurs signed Moussa Sissoko and Vincent Janssen, while Dembele joined Scottish giants Celtic on a four-year contract. He had two successful seasons there, scoring 51 goals in 94 appearances and winning two Scottish Premiership titles, two Scottish Cups and two Scottish League Cups. In 2018, Dembele returned to his home country, signing for Lyon where he netted 70 goals in 172 appearances between 2018 and 2023. He then joined the influx of former big names moving to the Saudi Pro League in July 2023, signing for Al-Ettifaq as a free agent. Despite a disappointing season for the team, Dembele, having been one of Steven Gerrard's first signings, scored 14 goals in 26 appearances. Still just 28 years old, he registered seven goals and four assists in 21 games for Al-Ettifaq in 2024/25. The team finished seventh in the Saudi Pro League, with the ship steadying following Gerrard's departure after the side had been left just five points clear of the relegation zone.
Daily Mail
26 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
What happened to rugby bad boy Will Carling: 90s lothario had a 'fling' with Princess Diana - and was fined £1million and needed therapy to handle the fallout from his philandering with identikit blondes
The man who the late Princess Diana was alleged to have nicknamed 'captain' - while he affectionately referred to her as 'boss' - saw his life move from the back pages of newspapers to the front thanks to his very colourful love life. In 1994, Will Carling, then 29, had won three major Grand Slams as captain of the England men's rugby team, a position that meant his path would frequently cross with the royals, including Diana. Somewhere between the hallowed turf at Twickenham and the fancy Chelsea gym the royal, then 33, and the rugby player shared, a friendship blossomed that would see Carling's previously clean-cut image begin to flounder. At the time, the rugged former public school boy was married to glamorous blonde television presenter Julia Smith, then 30, with the couple having wed in the same year. Photos of Diana and Carling emerging from Chelsea Harbour Club separately were snapped - and the pair were said to have grown close after the witty princess told the professional sportsman that he was doing sit-ups incorrectly. Post-workout refreshments in the club's cafe followed, sparking a chain of events that would catapult Carling's penchant for beautiful blonde women into the spotlight, and see him dubbed the 'bad boy of English rugby'. When it was disclosed to Julia that her husband was also visiting the Princess at Kensington Palace, his tell-tale blue Range Rover spotted in the car park, she publicly fired a warning shot at her royal rival, declaring that she had 'picked the wrong couple'. However, according to Tina Brown's book The Palace Papers, Diana and Carling were close enough for him to be introduced to her sons. 'William hero-worshiped Carling and met him several times with Diana,' she said. 'When Carling visited Kensington Palace for a romantic rendezvous, he gave both the boys a rugby shirt.' While a romance was never confirmed and indeed were frequently dismissed by Kensington Palace as 'pure speculation', by September 1995, Carling had announced that he and Julia were set to divorce - and papers were inked the following year. When reports of the divorce broke, Julia seemingly made it clear who she blamed for the destruction of the couple's happy ever after, in a quote relayed to a newspaper by a friend, saying: 'It would be easy to say she's ruined my marriage, but it takes two to tango and I blame Will for getting involved in the first place.' However, Julia herself later told another reporter: 'This has happened [to Diana] before... you hope she won't do these things again, but obviously she does.' During a lunch in 1996 with Piers Morgan, at which a 13-year-old Prince Wililam was present, Diana made her feelings clear. 'She's milking it for all she's worth that woman,' she said. 'I haven't seen Will since June '95.' William added: 'I keep a photo of Julia Carling on my dartboard at Eton.' Meanwhile, Will had retreated to a rented flat in Covent Garden, which wasn't in his name, didn't have a phone and was accessed via an underground car park. 'My parents didn't even know where I lived,' he said. 'I lived there for a year and I never opened the curtains or blinds in case anyone looked in.' A decade later in 2004, Carling was still adamant no affair had taken place with the late 'Queen of People's Hearts', telling the Sunday Mirror: 'No, no, no – how many times do I have to say it? We were friends...' Of the end of his marriage with Julia, he said: 'I have to admit that I didn't handle things very well, not very well at all. But there are two sides to every story, and no one has heard mine. That's my choice, and I live with it.' However, just four years ago the ex England rugby star, who will celebrate his 60th birthday in December, was more candid about his bond with Diana, admitting he had been 'stupidly doing things you shouldn't do'. Speaking on a podcast, he confessed the whole period had been 'a bit of a mess.' Asked to explain, the sportsman said: 'Just making messes of relationships because you're sort of rudderless and you've lost your focus and you don't behave well, and I didn't. 'Never intentionally or vindictively, I just think that was me, I just was in a bit of a mess. You're sort of like a car that's lost a steering wheel and you're careering all over the place. It wasn't very pleasant; it was a fairly traumatic time.' His impending divorce from Julia might have abated interest in his personal life, had a new woman not breezed into the picture months before his marriage was officially over. Ali Cockayne, then in her early thirties, knew the sporting world well; her sister Michelle was married to footballer-turned-BBC presenter Gary Lineker at the time. When Ali and Carling were introduced at a testimonial dinner, their love affair quickly became serious and they went on to have a son, Henry, in 1997. However, when Henry was just 11 months old, Carling appeared to swerve serious commitment once again, exiting the relationship in the midst of planning for their upcoming wedding. Ali learned the rugby player had a new squeeze when she discovered a press release in the study of their luxury home in Sunningdale, Berkshire, which read: 'Will Carling is leaving his partner Ali Cockayne for a future with Lisa Cooke.' Lisa was the estranged wife of his friend and ex-England rugby player David Cooke, and their romance ignited again over another testimonial match, this time Carling's own, at Wembley. In the days after the break-up was revealed, Ali was seen clutching Henry to her chest, crying uncontrollably. In 2024, Ali experienced the devastating death of her son Jonty, who she shared with her new partner, Bob Parkinson. Ali's agony was captured poignantly at the time of her split with Carling in a photograph, showing her clutching their son Henry to her chest, and crying uncontrollably The 18-year-old died of a crush injury to his abdomen after a tree accident in Oxfordshire. Announcing he was leaving Ali in 1998, Carling released a statement at the time through his agent, saying: 'This has been a very sad and painful time for everyone concerned. 'It is even more difficult and emotional because of Henry, but I plan to fulfil my duties and responsibilities as a father.' The couple's dramatic split happened just a month after Will retired from rugby. After his new love affair with Lisa became public, the rugby player was reportedly fined £1 million for cancelling a test match due to the fall-out. A year later, Carling and Lisa married in Fiji in 1999 with her two children, Tom and Tali, from her earlier marriage the only guests. They went on to have two children, Jack and Mimi, together. Carling later said that it was Lisa who 'transformed his life' and that family 'is just it for me'. The ex-army officer, whose rugby career spanned nine years, previously opened up about undergoing therapy with John Cleese's ex-wife, Alyce Faye Eichelberger. He reflected later that he hadn't always behaved the way he should have done, saying: 'As a sportsman you lead a very selfish life. 'But now, for the first time, I'm willing to concede that I'm not always right and not to think that things should always be my way.' He added: 'I'd hate to think I'd ever get complacent or boast that ours was the best relationship anyone's ever had. I think you have to work hard to stay happy, which for me means always talking instead of bottling up your feelings as I used to do.' Last year, he reflected in The Telegraph in 2024 on how being linked to one of the most famous women in the world, Princess Diana, was a 'good story'. He said: 'Front page is very different from back page. Yeah, it was not nice. 'Hey, a lot of that is my own fault, you can't complain. You have to learn. Relationships that I got that's what they got fascinated by. You look back on it and you think it was all blown out of all proportion, but it made a good story.' Now, Carling lives a much more low-key life, concentrating on being the best dad and family man he can be. He told The Daily Mail in 2015 of his new hobbies: 'I'm obsessed with [cycling] and clock up about 250km a week. I analyse all kinds of stats and love talking about kit. 'I'm 49 and I've become a Middle-Aged Man In Lycra – it's sad, but I can't help it,' added the sportsman. He has worked as a TV pundit, a motivational speaker and in the hospitality industry, while also acting as leadership mentor to Eddie Jones' England rugby team.
The Guardian
32 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Sunderland agree club-record £30m deal for Strasbourg midfielder Habib Diarra
Sunderland have stepped up preparations for life in the Premier League by agreeing to sign the Strasbourg midfielder Habib Diarra for a club-record £30m, according to reports. The Black Cats have moved swiftly to head off interest from Leeds in the Ligue 1 side's captain and replace Jobe Bellingham, who has joined Borussia Dortmund for an initial £27.8m. The 21-year-old Senegal international scored in the 3-1 defeat of England at Wembley earlier this month. Sunderland opened their summer transfer business by signing Enzo Le Fée in a £20m deal from Roma and sold their English winger Tom Watson to Brighton for £10m. Rérgis Le Bris' Championship playoff winners are also reported to be interested in the Nice goalkeeper Marcin Bulka, who had stints at Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain, as well as Sassuolo's French winger Armand Laurienté. This story will update
