EPL on a knife edge as virus cases rise

LONDON • Five English Premier League games will not be staged this weekend because of Covid-19.

The remaining five fixtures - Aston Villa v Burnley, Leeds v Arsenal, Newcastle v Manchester City, Wolves v Chelsea and Tottenham v Liverpool - are set to go ahead.

But given the rising infections - the league this week said there were a record 42 cases - at many clubs and the worsening situation in Britain as the Omicron variant wrecks havoc, the top flight will review the situation on Monday.

Brentford manager Thomas Frank, whose games with Southampton and Manchester United have been postponed, has been vocal about the competition taking a break until Dec 26 to allow for the virus to taper off.

It remains to be seen if the Premier League decides a pause is necessary to protect players' welfare.

However, Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said yesterday that he did not see the logic in implementing a hiatus.

The Reds travel to Tottenham tomorrow. Their opponents are set to play their first game in two weeks after an outbreak put paid to clashes against Rennes in the Europa Conference League, as well as Brighton and Leicester in the Premier League.

Liverpool have also been hit by suspected virus cases, with Curtis Jones, Fabinho and Virgil van Dijk all absent for Thursday's 3-1 league win over Newcastle.

Klopp revealed the trio could miss tomorrow's trip as they were all awaiting further polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests to determine their status.

Despite the possible absences, the German still wants football to carry on as usual, citing the fixture congestion that all the postponements have caused.

"I am not against stopping the league, I just don't see the 100 per cent benefit from stopping it compared to carrying on," he said.

"Stopping means we stop now for one to two weeks. That means five to six games? When do you want to play them?"

Still, he admitted a possible break was "not unlikely" as there are many factors out of his control, like opponents having a "vaccination rate that is really low or they don't have testing regime".

If the situation takes a turn for the worse, the league may have no choice but to do a reset to maintain the integrity of the competition, according to Newcastle manager Eddie Howe.

The Magpies host league leaders Manchester City tomorrow but the visitors are waiting on a PCR result to see if manager Pep Guardiola has tested positive, with the club yesterday cancelling his scheduled press conference.

Howe, whose side are 19th and remain mired in relegation trouble, said: "I think it's probably on a knife edge would be my verdict on it. I think when you start losing players to Covid, then the worry for me is that the competition becomes slightly unfair.

"I don't think anyone wants to see that. That's the biggest thing people want to see - a fair league. They don't want to see disparity in games and players missing.

"We all want the product to continue, I'm desperate to continue the programme myself, but I do think that the welfare of the players has to come first and the supporters has to come first."

The most recent Premier League data on vaccinations in October found that 81 per cent of players had received one dose and 68 per cent were double jabbed.

That number is understood to have considerably risen in the six weeks since, with clubs also encouraging the uptake of booster shots.

The situation is far more grave in the English lower tiers.

The English Football League (EFL), which governs the divisions below the Premier League, said on Thursday that a quarter of players from its 72 clubs do not intend to even get a single shot.

In response, British sports minister Nigel Huddleston yesterday urged pro footballers to "overcome their reluctance" towards the vaccine because it is their social responsibility.

He said: "The most important thing anyone, including footballers, can do to protect themselves, co-workers and loved ones is to get vaccinated and get a booster."

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS