Newcastle United respond to Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool's request to move Premier League match at St James's Park

Eddie Howe has provided his thoughts on Liverpool’s request to change the kick-off time of their match against Newcastle United at St James’s Park on April 30.
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The match is set to be broadcast live on BT Sport and is therefore scheduled to kick-off early at 12:30pm.

Either side of the Premier League encounter, Liverpool face Villarreal home and away in the Champions League semi-final.

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And Reds boss Jurgen Klopp expressed his dissatisfaction with the fixture scheduling.

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp (left) and Newcastle United head coach Eddie Howe (right).Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp (left) and Newcastle United head coach Eddie Howe (right).
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp (left) and Newcastle United head coach Eddie Howe (right).

“If you want to cause us problems you send us to 12:30 at Newcastle,” Klopp said earlier in the week.

“I don’t understand it. I can understand that people want to see a football match between Liverpool and Newcastle but I don’t see why any team should have an advantage or a disadvantage.

“The league and the broadcaster really have to try at least to help. We will see. I haven’t heard anything yet. Nobody from BT contacted me yet.

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“But I’d say common sense would tell you that it’s probably the right thing to do to move the game slightly backwards.”

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Liverpoool manager Jurgen Klopp makes Newcastle United fixture demand

Newcastle have been hit with their fair share of scheduling headaches this season as they recently played four consecutive away matches at Southampton, Chelsea, Everton and Tottenham Hotspur, with the first three taking place in the space of a week.

And head coach Howe admitted he was sympathetic to Liverpool’s situation.

“It’s a very difficult situation,” Howe said in his pre-match press conference ahead of Sunday’s match against Leicester City.

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“They’ve been very successful this year and ended up playing a lot of games, so I understand it from their viewpoint. I’d probably have the same opinion if I was them.

“For us, we’ve been in their position many times over the years when you look at it and think ‘how has this game been moved to this time or day?’

"We have very little say in the fixtures and when they come and how they sit. You just have to react and deal with it.

“I have every sympathy with Liverpool but they’re winning lots of games and in lots of competitions so naturally, it’s going to be that way.”

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Howe also highlighted his side’s recent run of fixtures as he added: “It’s not up to us to decide when games are played.

“We ended up playing four away games in very quick succession recently which was far from ideal for us but we had to bite the bullet and get on with it.

“We don’t decide the fixtures but I do have every sympathy with them.”

Should BT Sport and the Premier League grant Liverpool's request and move the kick-off time backwards, it would arguably give the away side – who are still fighting for a quadruple – an advantage.

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But Howe isn’t seeing things that way as he and his players will remain focused on the task at hand.

“I don't think that's for me to say [if it’s unfair],” Howe added. “We get told when to play and we'll turn up and do our best.”

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