English Premier League hits the restart button
Can you imagine that it’s been just over 100 days since the English Premier League hung up its boots and cancelled its fixtures because of the global Coronavirus pandemic sweeping the world?
Well… we’re glad to say that English footie returns tonight!
The pitch has been cut, the kits are clean, the boots have been polished and the floodlights are on full beam. The stage is set for the first round of returning fixtures.
The EPL (English Premier League) officially re-opens with a clash of Lions and Blades as Aston Villa host Sheffield United at Villa Park at 19.00 CEST June 17th. The sporting evening continues with Arsenal training its guns on the swift feet of Manchester City. That’s at 21.15 CEST June 17th.
Mr Green Specials
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(*Odds correct at publication time on 17th June 2020)
Where do the teams stand?
Aston Villa
The Lions currently sit 19th on the Premier League table with 28 games played, 7 wins, 4 draws and 17 losses. Their last game before the suspension of the EPL was against Leicester City, where they lost 4 goals to nil. This was the fourth consecutive loss since their 2 – 1 victory against Watford in January.
Tonight’s game will be important for rebuilding their momentum.
Sheffield United
Sheffield United sit at the 7th spot in the table with a respectable 11 wins, 10 draws and 7 losses in their 28 games played. The blades will be trying to build on the 4-win streak they made before the league’s suspension. Their last game was a 1 – 0 victory against Norwich City.
Arsenal
Sitting at 9th place are Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal. Right up to the suspension of the season, the Gunners had managed to pull of victories in their last three games. The side has drawn in more games than they had won or loss. They currently sit on 9 wins, 13 draws and 6 losses. Tonight will be an important night to see if Arsenal can notch themselves up the League table.
Manchester City
Hot on the heels of league leaders Liverpool is 2nd spot Manchester City. The Sky Blues have an impressive 18 wins to 3 draws and 7 losses in the season. While manager Pep Guardiola will be hoping to continue to keep the team in second place, he’ll also be hoping to notch up a seventh victory against the Gunners. This also marks an interesting confrontation with his former assistant coach Mikel Arteta.
The last 32
These games are two of the first 32 fixture matches for the League, that were initially announced back on the 5th June and are due to run until the end of July.
There won’t be any crowds in the stands and the games will take place behind closed doors. Stadiums will only be allowed to accommodate 300 people at this time. That includes the 22 men playing on the pitch.
Teams will be allowed to make five substitutions of players rather than the normal three per match. They can also name 9 substitutes rather than the normal 7. This is also in addition to strict procedures on how squads and coaching staff travel to and from games.
The pitches and grounds are being deep cleaned as well as corner flags, goal posts, the match balls and just about anything that pitch staff and players will come into contact with during the game.
Are you ready for the restart of the English Premier League? We certainly are!
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See you on the pitch!
