Premier League to continue despite COVID-19 chaos as clubs decide to fulfil fixture list
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The English Premier League (EPL) clubs have decided to continue with the scheduled fixtures despite COVID-19 cases rising among several clubs.
COVID-19 has led to a massive disruption in the ongoing English Premier League (EPL) as several matches had to be postponed last week and earlier this month due to a sudden spike in COVID-19 cases across major clubs. A number of top players have been infected by the contagious virus which has once again started to wreak havoc on countries across the globe.
Premier League clubs met on Monday (December 20) to decide if the game week 20 which gets underway from Tuesday (December 28) can be postponed in the wake of COVID-19 chaos in the league. However, the majority of clubs were in favour of continuing with the fixtures despite the recent surge in cases. The games will be played as per schedule, as per a report in the BBC.
The report further states that the clubs have been advised to go ahead with their respective fixtures if they have at least 13 fit players available for the game. A lot of managers including Liverpool's Jurgen Klopp had recently raised concerns over playing next week due to COVID-19 cases in the team.
Ten matches have been postponed so far in the Premier League this month due to COVID-19. Several top clubs including the likes of Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea have been affected as a number of players are down with the virus.
Last week, a total of 42 COVID-19 cases were detected in the Premier League which led to many teams calling for a postponement to break the chain. Liverpool and Chelsea, who played on Sunday were without a number of first-team players for their respective fixtures.
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Manchester United's game against Brentford had to be postponed as both clubs had several players down with COVID-19 ahead of the fixture. Aston Villa's clash against Burnely was also called off at the last moment due to COVID-19.
It remains to be seen if the competition will come to a standstill at some point amid rising cases or will the teams manage to pull through the difficult and busy festive period.