The Carabao Cup final between Liverpool and Chelsea at Wembley on Sunday, 25 February will now kick off at 15:00 GMT on police advice.
The fixture kicked off at 16:30 when the two clubs met in the final in 2022, but there has since been a change in the way police manage such matches.
The EFL said it was "disappointed" at the switch "at this late stage".
The last EFL Cup final which started at 15:00 or earlier was in 2014, when Manchester City beat Sunderland in a game that kicked off at 14:00.