The bizarre reason why Man Utd vs Sheffield United won't be shown on TV in the UK

Manchester United face Sheffield United in the Premier League on Wednesday night, but the game will not be broadcast on British channels for a bizarre reason.

Despite victory at Wembley at the weekend, United will be looking for a response from their FA Cup meltdown which saw them blow a three-goal lead to Championship side Coventry City in the last 20 minutes.

United eventually got over the line through penalties, with Rasmus Hojlund sealing victory from the spot to hand Coventry more Wembley heartbreak following their play-off defeat to Luton Town last season.

Sheffield United will also be requiring a response from their last outing as they suffered a crushing 4-1 defeat to relegation rivals Burnley leaving the side ten points away from safety.

The clash at Old Trafford isn't the only fixture this evening, with the Merseyside derby at Goodison Park alongside Wolves vs Bournemouth and Crystal Palace and Newcastle.

Out of all the games this evening only one will be broadcast in the UK, unsurprisingly that will be Everton vs Liverpool at Goodison Park considering the title race and local context.

While the games at Wolves and Palace were simply not selected for broadcast, the reason fans won't be able to tune into the fixture at Old Trafford is for separate bizarre reason.

Despite the high stakes at both ends of the table with United still fighting for a place in Europe, the match will not be shown live due to the 3 pm blackout despite it taking place at 8pm on a Wednesday.

Man United- Getty

The match was not initially chosen for broadcast by either Sky Sports or TNT Sports. Consequently, it was originally scheduled for the typical 3pm slot on a Saturday.

Due to the previous scheduling, neither Sky nor TNT could subsequently broadcast the match, as they have a limited number of matches included in their deals with the Premier League and had already selected the derby as a priority.

The 3pm blackout is designed to keep fans attending local fixtures but proves particularly unpopular with non-match-going Big Six fans.

Tom Jenkins

Tom Jenkins is a Social Editor and Journalist for SPORTBible. Specialises in Football and F1 but has experience covering a variety of sports such as MMA, Boxing and Cricket. Suffers weekly as an Evertonian.

@tomjenkns