Coronavirus pandemic

Coronavirus: Three weeks for EPL to get teams into groove

English top flight set to begin on June 17 with City-Arsenal kicking off resumption of halted season

Manchester City's Kevin de Bruyne shooting for goal in the match against West Ham in February. With City tipped to face Arsenal at the Emirates when the Premier League resumes on June 17, de Bruyne will again be the danger man after his two-goal outi
Manchester City's Kevin de Bruyne shooting for goal in the match against West Ham in February. With City tipped to face Arsenal at the Emirates when the Premier League resumes on June 17, de Bruyne will again be the danger man after his two-goal outing in the 3-0 win when the two sides met the last time. PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

LONDON • The Premier League looks set to resume on June 17 after all 20 clubs reportedly agreed on the date in principle, according to multiple British media outlets yesterday.

While there was no official confirmation as the teleconference meeting had yet to end by press time, the BBC, The Telegraph and The Independent said the first two games after a three-month hiatus because of the coronavirus pandemic would be the two games in hand - Manchester City v Arsenal and Aston Villa v Sheffield United.

The Telegraph also reported another game could be staged on June 19, with The Daily Mail claiming Tottenham v Manchester United may fill that slot, though The Independent said it might be instead reserved for a Championship fixture as the second division also appears likely to start around the same time.

However, a full slate of fixtures will be held from June 20 to 21, with the Merseyside derby between Everton and Liverpool being the highlight of the first weekend of English top flight football since the season was halted on March 13.

A head of steam had been built up after Premier League clubs voted for the resumption of full-contact training, while respecting social distancing guidelines, on Wednesday, allowing for Phase Two of Project Restart to commence.

Phase Three would represent a return to normal training and the usual build-up before competitive action, which is the final step.

The June 17 date means teams have about three weeks to ensure they are fit for what is to be a condensed domestic calendar as Uefa wants August to be freed up primarily for its competitions, the Champions League and the Europa League.

Earlier this month, the Premier League's chief executive, Richard Masters, had expressed his desire for the two remaining game-in-hand fixtures to be played so as to bring all teams onto the 29-game bracket.

"It is a relatively normal occurrence for, at this stage of the season, there to be displaced matches that have to be played," he said.

"But I think it is a good idea to prioritise games that have to be played first relatively early in the schedule."

The last time an English top-flight game was staged this late in the year was in June 14, 1947, when Sheffield United hosted Stoke.

But while it is far from customary to be playing top-level matches in the heat of the British summer, social media was abuzz over its return, especially as there were genuine fears the campaign could be axed - just like the French Ligue 1 and the Dutch Eredivisie - due to the Covid-19 crisis.

BBC pundit and England great Gary Lineker tweeted: "It's coming back, football's coming back. June 17."

All 92 remaining games are to be staged behind closed doors.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on May 29, 2020, with the headline Coronavirus: Three weeks for EPL to get teams into groove. Subscribe