The Premier League is set to return in less than three weeks, according to a report that says June 17th will see the first two games.
'Project Restart' stepped up this week with players allowed to start contact training in small groups and the next phase of testing also beginning.
According to The Telegraph, the league will begin again on June 17th with Manchester City vs Arsenal and Aston Villa vs Sheffield United the first two games to be played on that Wednesday.
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Those two games were the games in hand the four clubs had over everyone else, with City meant to host the Gunners on the Wednesday before all games were cancelled, after Arsenal players had to self-isolate following contact with Olympiakos owner Evangelos Marinakis who tested positive for Covid-19.
After the opening two matches there will be another game on Friday 19th June, kicking off the first full round of fixtures across the whole weekend.
The Premier League are hoping to finish their season on August 2nd and then the FA Cup final would be held the following weekend, with UEFA hoping to finish the Champions League and Europa League in August as well.
The teams reportedly agreed to the restart date in a call on Thursday afternoon, with several other issues also discussed.
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The two games in hand will allow all the clubs to be left on 29 games each and leave six weeks to complete the final nine games for all the clubs.
Should City lose to Arsenal, and whoever their game would be at the weekend, then Liverpool could be champions without playing another game, as was the situation before the pause in the league.
Sheffield United's game against Aston Villa could have a huge say on both the race for European positions and the scrap to remain in England's top tier.
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A win for the Blades would take them above Wolves and Manchester United and into fifth in the league, which could be a good enough finish to qualify for the Champions League next season.
Villa are currently 19th and heading for a return to the Championship, after just one year back in the Premier League, but a win of Chris Wilder's team actually take them into 16th place and drop Watford back into the bottom three.
The clubs were initially hoping to restart the season five days earlier than they have now reportedly agreed to, on June 12th, but that has had to be pushed back.
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This week, in the latest round of testing, only four out of 1008 Covid-19 tests were positive and players and stafff will continue to be tested twice a week.
Featured Image Credit:Topics: Manchester City, Chris Wilder, Football News, Aston Villa, Europa League, Pep Guardiola, Project Restart, Sheffield United, Premier League, FA Cup, Coronavirus, Arsenal, Champions League, Covid-19