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For football fans, the news that the Premier League is set to return on June 13 has been music to their ears. It will be 100 days since the season was stopped – on March 13 – with shareholders voting to restart the suspended season.
There will be two games on June 17 to bring all 20 teams in the top flight to 29 matches played as Manchester City do battle against Arsenal and Sheffield United host Aston Villa. Sheffield United are currently 7/5 to beat Villa and Manchester City 4/11 favourites to beat Arsenal at and, as the excitement builds, you can take advantage of the plethora of promotions like free bets no deposit offers circulating for the Premier League’s return.
Of course, the elephant in the room is how the Premier League will be affected by the pandemic. With testing increasing from 50 to 60 people per club, clubs are trying their utmost to keep the virus at bay. And, if anyone does test positive for Covid-19, they will be requested to self-isolate for seven days. So, just what can we expect when play resumes?
Will almost feel surreal
The return of live football will be a blessing in disguise for many people whose weekends revolved around seeing their beloved team play on a Saturday afternoon. But, that doesn’t mean that they will be able to attend. In fact, all games will be played behind closed doors, making the atmosphere like a training game, but with a whole lot more at stake.
The business end of the season
With all teams either playing 28 or 29 of their 38 matches from the top flight schedule, the season is approximately three-quarters of the way through. And, with no playoff structure to determine the league champion, the final 11 or ten games were vital as these would dictate where teams would finish.
Liverpool, in first place, were running away with the league and on the verge of taking home their maiden Premier League title. In fact, the Reds had lost just once in 29 games, 25 points in front of second-place Manchester City.
The fight at the bottom end of the table is, however, much more exciting. Norwich City sit bottom, six points from escaping the relegation zone with Aston Villa 19th on 25 points. West Ham, Watford and Bournemouth all sit on 27 points with Brighton just ahead on 29. That ensures that we are in for a treat. Norwich’s 1/9 and Villa’s 2/5 relegation odds suggests that they are goners, but nothing is certain in football.
A heated top four battle
The top four battle is one that will perhaps be watched with the most eager of eyes. With Liverpool already assured of their spot and Manchester City and Leicester City also looking relatively safe (57 points and 53 points respectively), there looks to be a fight between Chelsea (48 points) and Manchester United (45 points) for that elusive fourth-placed spot. Yet, six teams are still within six points of the Europa League place, so it is far from over.
The majority of football fans will just be happy that the sport will be back on live television, but there is still a long way to go to decide the season.
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