The 2019/20 Premier League season will resume on June 17; it was confirmed on Thursday.
There has been no action in the top-flight since early March, with all sport put on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic.
But the Premier League is now gearing up to return, with all 20 clubs welcoming their squads back to training and setting a date for its resumption.
Here’s all you need to know about the restart…
project Restart’ was initially planned for June 12, but clubs have now voted on Wednesday, June 17 for the season to resume – subject to meeting all safety requirements.
Aston Villa will host Sheffield United on that date, while Manchester City will welcome Arsenal.
Those are both rearranged games, and will mean all 20 clubs have played 29 matches heading into the weekend of June 19-21, when the rest of the top-flight will be in action once again.
Players have been back in training since May. Strict social distancing guidelines were in place initially, but this week clubs voted to reintroduce contact training.
All games will be held behind closed doors at the clubs’ own stadiums. There are 92 matches still to play in total.
Premier League chief executive Richard Masters said on Thursday, May 28: “Today we have provisionally agreed to resume the Premier League on Wednesday June 17.
“But this date cannot be confirmed until we have met all the safety requirements needed, as the health and welfare of all participants and supporters is our priority.
“Sadly, matches will have to take place without fans in stadiums, so we are pleased to have come up with a positive solution for supporters to be able to watch all the remaining 92 matches.
“The Premier League and our clubs are proud to have incredibly passionate and loyal supporters. It is important to ensure as many people as possible can watch the matches at home. We will continue to work step-by-step and in consultation with all our stakeholders as we move towards resuming the 2019-20 season.”
When will the games kick-off?
New staggered kick-off times will be used for the remaining matches.
Games on a Friday will kick off at 8pm, while on Saturday the slots will be 12.30pm, 3pm, 5.30pm and 8pm.
Sunday matches will kick off at either 12pm, 2pm, 4.30pm and 7pm, with Monday games starting at 8pm.
Midweek games on Tuesdays and Wednesday will kick off at either 6pm or 8pm.
The exact fixture dates will be confirmed in due course after discussions with TV and radio broadcasters.
Will all the games be on TV?
Yes! All 92 matches will be broadcast live by the Premier League’s partners – Sky Sports, BT Sport, BBC Sport and Amazon Prime.
Sky will show the majority of the games – 64 in total – with 25 of the games being made free-to-air, including Everton vs Liverpool on the first full weekend back.
BT Sport will show 20 of the games live on their platform.
The BBC will show four live matches, alongside their usual Match of the Day highlight programs – the first time the channel will televise live Premier League football since the competition’s founding in 1992. Amazon Prime will also have four live matches.
Could the Premier League season still be voided?
That looks highly unlikely as things stand.
The league are desperate to play the remaining games as the cost of cancelling it could be up to £1billion.
Sky, BT and overseas rights holders have already paid the Premier League for their full season’s broadcast rights, despite a quarter of the campaign left to play. So scrapping the campaign will mean broadcasters will look to recoup millions.
However, there is still a small possibility the season could be scrapped should there be a second wave of the virus or serious safety issues become apparent
How does the Premier League table look?
Liverpool are way out in front – an incredible 25 points ahead of nearest challengers Manchester City – and are just two wins away from winning the Premier League for the first time.
Leicester are on course to secure Champions League qualification while there is set to be a big battle for the final top four spot, with Chelsea, Manchester United, Wolves, Sheffield United, Tottenham and Arsenal all still in with a shot.
At the bottom, Norwich look doomed to relegation, while Aston Villa, Bournemouth, Watford, West Ham and Brighton are all battling for survival.
