Why Man Utd are not playing a Saturday 3pm for over four months

Manchester United are on course to go more than four months without playing a fixture in the traditional Saturday 3pm slot.

Ruben Amorim's side have played just three times during the 3pm blackout this campaign - the last time being a 2-2 draw at Nottingham Forest on 1 November.

The Red Devils have also not played a Saturday 3pm kick-off at Old Trafford since beating Sunderland on 4 October.

Since the draw at Forest, United have played six times away from that kick-off time and their next 14 games look set to follow suit.

United's next match in that slot is on Saturday, 28 February, but that is set to be moved due to Crystal Palace's involvement in the Conference League play-offs.

In response, supporter Sam on X said: "Knew a Saturday 3pm kick-off was too good to be true."

Fan Chris wrote: "You buy a season ticket with the premise the games will be played at 3pm on a Saturday. However, if the kick-off times are changed, not only are you not offered a refund if you can't attend, your season ticket may subsequently be withdrawn. Stinks."

Peter said: "United are the biggest club in the world, you'd expect most United games to be available on TV, thus very few of the 19 are going to be 3pm Saturday."

But JP said in a post: "I understand United are the biggest draw for TV, but I've never seen a single club get this many Monday night games in a single season."

United are scheduled to play the most Sunday matches of any team not involved in Europe this season in the period since the start of the season to 23 February.

Leeds United did not play a Premier League game on a Sunday until November, while Burnley are set to play on a Sunday just three times until March.

Games on a Sunday up to 23 February:

Arsenal, who are in the Champions League, are set to play just five matches on that weekday in the same timeframe.

The fixture list could be altered if they progress to the FA Cup fourth round, which is scheduled for the weekend of 14 February.

But only 10 of the 32 FA Cup third round ties are 3pm kick-offs, meaning that even if United do advance, it is unlikely that their match will be at that time.

Their next potential 3pm kick-off is the home game against Aston Villa in the Premier League on Saturday, 14 March. However, television fixtures for March have not been finalised.

United's schedule is significantly more flexible than other clubs due to their failure to qualify for Europe and their early exit in the Carabao Cup.

Last season was a similar tale, with just two of United's 60 matches in all competitions taking place at 3pm on a Saturday.

However, this was due to United reaching the Europa League final causing games to be rescheduled to Sundays.

Palace needed a win over Finnish side KuPS on Thursday to seal a top eight finish in the Conference League table.

Despite taking an early lead, Oliver Glasner's side were held to a 2-2 draw at Selhurst Park, meaning they have had to settle for a play-off spot.

The play-offs are two-legged ties, taking place on Thursday, 19 February and Thursday, 26 February.

The Premier League fixture is now likely to take place on Sunday, 1 March.

This article is the latest from BBC Sport's Ask Me Anything team.