Premier League To Resume On June 17
Hundred days after the last Premier League game was contested between Leicester City and Aston Villa on March 9, the world’s most popular league will resume on June 17 with two outstanding games.
Aston Villa against Sheffield United and Arsenal’s home game against champions Manchester City will be used to restart the season.
The Premier League was put on hold on March 9 after Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta tested positive for the virus, which has so far infected 269,127 people in the United Kingdom and killed another 37,837.
Premier League clubs have since resumed full training and three rounds of covid-19 tests have produced 12 positive cases among top flight players and staff.
A Premier League statement read: "Premier League Shareholders today agreed to a new provisional restart date for the 2019-20 season of Wednesday June 17, provided that all safety requirements are in place.
"Aston Villa v Sheffield United and Manchester City v Arsenal, postponed due to the EFL Cup final, will now take place on June 17, followed by a full match round beginning on Friday 19 June.
"Due to Covid-19, matches will take place behind closed doors."
Premier League chief executive Richard Masters added: "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."
Liverpool were 25 points clear at the top of the table before the season was suspended.
