Premier League: The biggest winners & losers if the league is stopped due to COVID-19 outbreak – A meeting will take place on Monday for Club managers and captains to hold a debate to decide if the Premier League is safe for everyone to continue and if the competition should be paused, to get things back to normal. The whole situation comes to light as a total of 10 Premier League matches were postponed due to Covid outbreaks within the club as several players and staff members tested positive in the span of two weeks. Follow all the latest Football news and updates on InsideSport.IN
If a break is called for in the Premier League keeping in the mind the current rise in cases in the U.K there could be some teams who could widely benefit from a break, but for some teams, it will be an absolute loss of momentum for the form they are in. Check out all the biggest winners and losers from the ‘break.’
The #PL Board has postponed #AVLBUR because of an increase in positive COVID-19 cases in the Aston Villa squad
Full statement: https://t.co/0f2PmvCUg3 pic.twitter.com/sfJH787NH0
— Premier League (@premierleague) December 18, 2021
The Top flight clubs are not keen if such a break during the season should go ahead as it could once again bring the clubs huge losses. Although Brentford boss Thomas Frank said, “Covid cases are going through the roof at all Premier League clubs, everyone is dealing with it and having problems.”
“To postpone this round and also the Carabao Cup round would give everyone a week at least, or four or five days to clean and do everything at the training ground so everything is clean and you break the chain.”
The meeting on Monday will provide more clarity as 6 fixtures have been postponed with just 4 games going ahead this weekend.
Fixtures Postponed:
Manchester United vs Brighton
Aston Villa vs Burnley
Southampton vs Brentford
Watford vs Crystal Palace
West Ham United vs Norwich
Everton vs Leicester City
With the health and safety of players, staff members and their families being the topmost priority the fact that some clubs will benefit from the break. Here is a look at what the Premier League break could mean for the title challengers and the top four.
Premier League: Title challengers
Manchester City
Manchester City who were Premier League champions last year are in flying form as they overtook Chelsea and Liverpool simultaneously in the title challenge race and are now on top of the table. City scored seven goals against relegation-threatened Leeds and registered their seventh league victory maintaining a 1 point lead from 2nd placed Liverpool.
The league leaders have not reported any Covid cases yet, although Pep Guardiola returned an inconclusive test on Friday after he traveled to Barcelona to attend Sergio Aguero’s press conference which resulted in the cancellation of the Pre- Match Press Conference before taking on Newcastle United.
Premier League: The biggest winners & losers if the league is stopped due to COVID-19 outbreak; Check full list of teams
A break for Manchester City will not help their red hot form in the Premier League which could be a negative point for the side after performing so well in recent games and being on top of the game. Although, with the quality, the side possesses they can hit the ground running whenever required.
Liverpool
Just the like league leaders, Liverpool too are in a great run of form being unbeaten in their last 8 matches in all competitions and goals have just been flying from everyone in the team especially the Egyptian forward Salah who has scored 15 goals in the Premier League and provided 9 assists leading both the charts in the Premier League.
Liverpool came from behind to beat Newcastle United 3-1 on Friday and have a three-point lead against 3rd place Chelsea. The likes of Virgil Van Djik, Fabinho and Curtis Jones missed the game after having tested positive for Covid-19.
However, a break could not be an ideal situation for Reds as Mo Salah is in hot form along with Diogo Jota scoring regularly and this could put a brake on their outstanding performances.
Jurgen Klopp said, “It was not cool to get the information this morning the boys were not available but knowing they are all vaccinated means they will be fine after however many days they isolate. ‘Players’ and people’s welfare is the most important thing at the moment.
‘I know Thomas Frank said he thinks it would be the right thing to stop the league, I don’t see the massive benefit as we come back and the virus is still the same.’
Chelsea:
The Blues have won just 2 matches out of their last 6 fixtures in all competitions as Thomas Tuchel’s side slipped up from the top spot in the Premier League and have fallen behind Manchester City and Liverpool having a three-point gap between themselves and Liverpool. Chelsea have created many chances in all their recent matches but have failed to find the back of the net in the final third which has affected their league position.
Chelsea suffered from Covid as Romelu Lukaku, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Timo Werner all missed the game against Everton after testing positive.
A break in the Premier League could help Chelsea ponder on their recent performances and help them come back stronger to get back into the title race to catch up on lost points as we head into the New Year.
The race for the Top 4
Arsenal:
Since their back-to-back away defeats against Manchester United and Everton, Arsenal have found their form back and have won 3 matches in a row scoring a minimum of 2 goals per game. The last time Arsenal lost a home fixture was on August 22nd against Chelsea since then they have not lost at home.
The Arsenal youngsters have been very impressive this season with Gabriel Martinelli, Emile Smith-Rowe, Bukayo Saka and Aaron Ramsdale racking up top-notch performances every match. Arsenal haven’t suffered from the rise in Covid cases so far but they were hit by an outbreak in August.
Premier League: The biggest winners & losers if the league is stopped due to COVID-19 outbreak; Check full list of teams
Mikel Arteta seemed unhappy with how the situation is being handled by the league members. Asked if a strict number of Covid cases is required in the Premier League, Arteta said, “I’m saying that would be really, really helpful. I think it is [too vague] because you don’t know when you have to play and when you don’t and we have some examples about that.”
“The decision has to be made first of all to protect the players and the environment and after obviously we need to maintain certain criteria so all the clubs are competing can compete in the same conditions. That’s it. But for me the most important thing is health.”
Although Arteta is keen for a break in the Premier League but even he is aware that the break may disrupt the team’s fine form as they currently in 4th place above West Ham United, Manchester United and Tottenham.
West Ham:
West Ham United have been a sight to watch this season at times but recent poor performances such as a draw against Burnley and Brighton, 2-0 loss against Arsenal and 2-1 loss at the Etihad have hindered their Top-4 hopes.
David Moyes’ side have not been hit by the Omicron variant but due to a hectic schedule in the Premier League and Europa League the team has suffered many injuries at the back.
Ogbonna will be out of the season while Cresswell, Johnson, Zouma and Fredricks are the other casualties who have been sidelined through injury. A break for West Ham could help them currently as their defenders look to be back in time for the remaining fixtures.
Manchester United:
Manchester United have been hit by Covid as Ralf Rangnick who was set to revolutionize the way football is played at Old Trafford has all come to a pause. Their games against Brentford and Brighton had been postponed with only seven players being available to face Brighton.
United have won their last 3 league games as Michael Carrick was in charge for one of the games before welcoming Ralf Rangnick who has managed three games for the Red Devils so far.
Ralf Rangnick would like some time on the training ground to help the players adapt to his tactics and playing style but with Carrington training complex being shut until Tuesday. Therefore a break for the team would help Manchester United for their players to recover well and also take time to adapt the tactics and start the season fresh when it resumes.
Tottenham:
Antonio Conte who was called to manage Tottenham after the sacking of Nuno Espirito Santos, was looking to make his mark on the team before the team suffered from a Covid outbreak. In the recent weeks, a total of 4 matches have been postponed along with a Conference League fixture.
The Spurs team are set to face Liverpool today evening as they welcomed a few big names back into the team in a hope of putting a good performance against a top side. Tottenham have 4 fixtures yet to play in the Premier League as they are still in 7th place with many points to play for. By claiming maximum points from their pending 4 fixtures Tottenham could move into 4th place.
Antonio Conte said, “I think is the big problem that we must be [prepared] to face in the future, to bring these players affected by COVID to be fit and avoid injuries. This could be the big problem in the future, not the 10 days.”
“After 10 days you have players available but then you have to pay attention to the way to train, whether the body is ready to work in a good way. You have to pay attention, moderate the training to avoid injuries. This is the big problem, not only for Tottenham but for other clubs with COVID-hit players.”
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