Why will the national anthem be played at Premier League games this weekend?

King Charles III's coronation will be marked by Premier League clubs across the bank holiday weekend with a rendition of the national anthem.

The Premier League games themselves are also set for an atypical round of matches, from unusual kick-off times to agreed changes in the pre-match programmes highlighting the importance of the occasion.

Arsenal's recent clash with London rivals Chelsea had experienced a two-day postponement due to policing reasons surrounding the coronation weekend, but the adjustments don't end there.

Why will the national anthem played at this weekend's Premier League fixtures?

The Premier League recently made contact with every home team to "strongly suggest" that 'God Save the King' is played prior to all matchweek 35 fixtures. This is in light of King Charles III's coronation.

All clubs have been asked to sound the anthem with players and officials surrounding the centre circle. An official portrait of the King and Queen consort will be provided and the coronation logo will be displayed on the stadium screens during the anthem.

Bournemouth, Tottenham, Wolves, and Manchester City all play at home in the 15:00 BST slot and Liverpool then host Brentford in Saturday's late game - all on the same day as the coronation itself.

Liverpool find themselves in a complex situation as their fans are commonly known for not singing the national anthem - they were heard booing the anthem prior to the 2022 FA Cup final - but the club have agreed to all proceedings.

Many Liverpudlians have ancestral reasons not to consider themselves English and have shown their favouring of Labour since Margaret Thatcher's unpopular reign. The handling of the Hillsborough disaster, which happened during a time when Thatcher and the Conservatives were in power, only further enraged those in the northwest city and heightened their disapproving stance.

The club's official statement read: "It is, of course, a personal choice how those at Anfield on Saturday mark this occasion and we know some supporters have a strong view on it."

When is the King's coronation?

King Charles III's coronation, which will consist of a full day of events in England's capital city, will take place on Saturday 6 May at 11:00 BST

Thousands of people are expected to attend the historic celebrations as they mark the crowning of the first new monarch since 1952, while a public holiday has been slated for Monday 8 May.

That has led to a number of Premier League fixtures being rescheduled.

How the King's coronation affects the Premier League?

The weekend's round of fixtures will be affected significantly by the crowing of the new monarch.

Due to the early start time of the coronation (11:00 BST), the usual 12:30 BST kickoff has been removed and will have a knock-on effect on other games across the weekend. Manchester United's game against West Ham will take place at 19:00 BST on Sunday and earlier games on Monday have also been introduced.

The usual rule of the 3pm TV blackout will be altered this weekend due to the shift in timings, which means Leeds' visit to Manchester City will be shown on Sky Sports.

Sam Allardyce's first game in charge was brought forward to accommodate City's midweek action in the Champions League and Liverpool's later kick-off time means the televised City game at 15:00 will be a one-off exemption.

Premier League fixtures over the coronation weekend