Premier League set to restart on 17 June with Man City v Arsenal
- Bayo Adetu
- May 29, 2020
- SPORTS
- 0 Comments
The Premier League is set to restart on 17 June with Aston Villa v Sheffield United and Manchester City v Arsenal, subject to government approval.
A full round of fixtures would then be played on the weekend of 19-21 June.
There are 92 matches still to play, and the first to take place will be those the four teams involved have in hand.
All matches will take place behind closed doors and will be broadcast live on Sky Sports, BT Sport, BBC Sport or Amazon Prime.
BBC Sport will air four live matches for the first time since the Premier League’s inception in 1992.
Meanwhile, Sky Sports will show 64 matches live and make 25 available free to air.
BBC Sport understands that clubs have agreed to a provisional end date of Saturday, 25 July.
It is also understood that finishing the season would require six weekends and three midweek rounds.
Liverpool sit 25 points clear at the top of the table while Bournemouth, Aston Villa and Norwich City are in the relegation places.
The Reds, chasing a first league title in 30 years, could clinch it with victory in their first game back should second-placed Manchester City lose to Arsenal.
“The Premier League and our clubs are proud to have incredibly passionate and loyal supporters,” Premier League chief executive Richard Masters said.
“It is important to ensure as many people as possible can watch the matches at home.”
Masters added that the resumption date would not be confirmed “until we have met all the safety requirements needed”.
It is understood that if the season progresses as planned, the £340m rebate to TV companies can be phased over a period of time.
However, if the games are not played, the full sum will be due in July.
Meanwhile on Friday morning the Football Association will announce proposed dates for the FA Cup quarter-finals, semi-finals and final.
And in terms of European competition, the last 16 second-leg matches in the Champions League and Europa League are set to be played between 6 and 8 August. Manchester City, Manchester United and Wolves are all still involved. Uefa will discuss the plans at an executive committee meeting in June before a decision is made.