COVID hits EPL: Fixture congestion likely

After Aston Villa had a COVID outbreak among their first team players and staff, their U-23s had to represent the club in the FA Cup against Liverpool. However, their league game against Tottenham Hotspur which was previously scheduled for Wednesday has been postponed till further notice. The U-23s cannot be permitted to play in the league because already, 4 games this season have been postponed due to COVID-related reasons, and there is no compulsion on teams to play their league matches, unlike in the FA Cup.

The FA announced on Monday that the Tottenham-Fulham game which was previously postponed will take place instead of the Tottenham-Villa game on Wednesday. The arrangement was to Fulham’s consternation as they had completed 120 minutes on Saturday in the FA Cup and have another match against Chelsea on Friday, although that has been moved to Saturday evening.

With all of these postponements, the second half of the season looks set to be fully packed and congested, with most teams in the league having to complete at least 21 league games in the next 4 months. Some other teams still have to navigate their ways through Europe and there are also domestic competitions to play. It could be a very hectic conclusion to this season.