If football continues to roll, you can watch Aston Villa-Burnley on Saturday from 15:30 on TV 2 Sport Premium and Play.
Corona infection is spreading in the Premier League and several of the clubs have been hit hard by infections.
Manchester United, Chelsea, Tottenham, Leicester, Norwich, Brighton, Watford and Everton have all confirmed infection. In addition, Liverpool confirmed on Thursday that Virgil van Dijk, Fabinho and Curtis Jones lost the match against Newcastle on Thursday after positive quick tests.
The fierce pressure of infection in the Premier League has led to several postponed matches at England’s top level. Before this weekend’s league round, half of the matches have been postponed.
So far, the EFL (English Football League) – from level two to four – has postponed 19 of the weekend’s 36 matches.
Vaccine numbers obtained by EFL in November showed that 75 percent of the players were either fully vaccinated, had received one dose or had plans to be vaccinated.
The other 25 percent stated that at that time they had no plans to get vaccinated.
In the top division Premier League, a census in October showed that 81 percent of the players had received at least one dose, while 68 percent were double-vaccinated.
Brentford manager Thomas Frank said at Wednesday’s press conference that he wants a break in Premier League football until Christmas so that the infection can be overcome. After Newcastle-Liverpool on Thursday night, the Dane received support from Eddie Howe.
Postponed matches
Brighton-Tottenham
Brentford-Manchester United
Burnley-Watford
Leicester-Tottenham
Manchester United-Brighton
Southampton-Brentford
Watford-Crystal Palace
West Ham-Norwich
Everton-Leicester
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Such a break can be seen for the time being, one must believe the renowned journalist David Ornstein from The Athletic.
– In an ideal world, people would take a break and try to calm things down so that we returned to a relatively normal everyday life. It is in an ideal world. That we should put matches on hold and wait for everyone to be ready is simply not realistic, Ornstein says to Sky Sports Friday before further explaining:
– The Premier League needs to get rid of matches where possible. You could say it’s problematic in terms of the league’s integrity, but that applies to all scenarios at the moment.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp thinks a break has little to offer, something he explains in the video below:
Arteta calls for clarity – Klopp does not mind stopping the league
At Friday’s press conference, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta was asked what he thinks about the corona situation in the Premier League.
– We need more clarity about why the matches are not played and what must happen for a match not to be played so that we can maintain justice in the league, said the Spaniard and later added:
– CRITICAL: Mikel Arteta wants clear rules from the Premier League about the corona situation. Photo: PAUL CHILDS
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– I do not know what the best solution is. I understand that it is complicated. What I am saying is that we must make a decision on what is best for the competition and the health of those involved.
Aston Villa manager Steven Gerrard also raised the issue when he received questions from journalists on Friday and asked the players’ health to come first.
Liverpool-manager Jürgen Klopp said on Thursday that a break has little to offer. At Friday’s press conference, he further explained what he meant:
– I am not against stopping the league. I just do not see 100 percent advantage in doing so. Between stopping the league and continuing, there are several levels. To stop the league means that we stop now, one or two weeks are about five or six games. So, when do you want to play them ?, asked the German, who does not see it as realistic that football can continue as before either as clubs get more infected.
Ornstein points to the Qatar World Cup
The challenge of completing the season, as Klopp mentions, is precisely one of the issues Ornstein raised on Sky Sports on Friday in the discussion about a Premier League stop.
Part of the reason why a break in the Premier League can prove to be challenging is the World Cup in Qatar in a year. The summer break before the 2022/23 season is already shorter due to next winter’s World Cup break.
– It is a shortened season anyway due to a shorter summer next year as a result of the Qatar World Cup. As the situation is now, there is room to play the matches in the new year, but I think the Premier League will do everything in its power to tighten the precautions and get teams in training and get matches played, says Ornstein:
– It is not a perfect scenario at all, but “the show must go on” and the Premier League will do everything they can for the ball to continue to roll.
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