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Premier League season to resume on 17 June
According to BBC Sport, each of the remaining 92 Premier League matches are to be played across six weekends and three midweek rounds of fixtures before a provisional end date on Saturday 25 July.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s announcement that some pubs may open as early as 4 July under physical distancing measures on Monday 11 May means that there could potentially be 21 days of Premier League football available for pubs when they reopen.
As reported by The Morning Advertiser (MA), the current Premier League season was suspended on 13 March and will have seen an unprecedented 97-day break in play before the planned resumption on 17 June.
‘Games in hand’ between Aston Villa and Sheffield United as well as Arsenal’s trip to Manchester City are to be played first in a bid to ensure that all 20 top-flight sides have played the same number of games before a first full round of fixtures on the weekend of 19-21 June.
All matches will take place behind closed doors and will be broadcast live on either Sky Sports, BT Sport, BBC Sport or Amazon Prime.
BBC will broadcast live Premier League matches for the first time since its inception in 1992 – with four free-to-air fixtures currently in the offing – while Sky Sports will show 64 games with 25 available free to air. MA also understands that matches shown on BT Sport will be available to pubs.
As reported by MA, both Sky Sports and BT Sport have suspended billing for its commercial customers indefinitely during the Covid-19 shutdown.
The kick-off times used upon the league’s return will be Friday evening at 8pm; Saturday at 12.30pm, 3pm, 5.30pm and 8pm; Sunday at 12noon, 2pm, 4.30pm and 7pm; Monday at 8pm; and 6pm on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday.
The Premier League’s return comes slightly more than a month after Germany’s Bundesliga resumed behind closed doors after Covid-19 lockdown, while north of the border Celtic were handed their ninth league title in a row after the Scottish Premiership was declared over on 18 May.
At the time of writing, no decision had been made regarding the resumption of the EFL Championship, while clubs in both League One and League Two voted to abandon their seasons on 14 May.
The season will resume with Liverpool sitting 25 points clear atop the table in search of their first league title in 30 years, which could be clinched in the first game back if defending champions Manchester City lose to Arsenal.
At the other end of the table, Bournemouth, Aston Villa and Norwich City are currently in the relegation places.
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