Project Restart has reached an eventual conclusion, as the 2019-20 Premier League season will resume play on the week beginning June 15. Carabao Cup winners Manchester City host Arsenal, while Euro-chasing Sheffield United face relegation-threatened Aston Villa in the first fixtures – with a weekend schedule following.
The aforementioned matches are the two games in hand, after City and Villa’s Carabao Cup exploits at Wembley on March 1 forced their fixtures to be rescheduled.
The Telegraph were first to report that a full fixture list will then be played afterwards, on the weekend of June 19-21. A staggered schedule with games each day is planned:
Tottenham-Manchester United is expected to feature as a Friday night match that week, with other games spread across the weekend – allowing for maximum TV coverage.
Clubs are still discussing ideas at a meeting today, though all have agreed to resume in the middle of next month.
READ: Five subtle observations as Premier League clubs continue training return
This news comes as Project Restart took another significant step forward, as clubs agreed to engage in contact training again for the first time since March earlier this week.
It is also understand PL bosses want this campaign to be concluded by the weekend of August 1, which will naturally impact the EFL’s plans to resume the Championship too.
What about the FA Cup and European competitions?
The start date for the 2020-21 season is expected to be sometime in mid-September, following the international break.
With that being said, some Premier League clubs could still be in action in August as UEFA are eager to finish their Champions League and Europa League campaigns.
This is expected to happen once domestic leagues are concluded. Manchester rivals City and United, Chelsea and Wolves will be affected across the two competitions.
This season’s FA Cup Final is anticipated to take place between August 1-8, as well as the aforementioned European fixtures, assuming the coronavirus pandemic has subsided to the extent that international travel is permitted.
The story in other European countries
Germany’s Bundesliga have successfully completed three rounds of matches and will be followed by Spain’s LaLiga early next month, while Italy’s Serie A will resume on June 20.
READ: 5 talking points as Spanish PM confirms La Liga will return next month
Although France’s Ligue 1 campaign was concluded via a points-per-game system last month, England’s top-flight want to ensure they manage to complete this season’s remaining 92 matches and do so in a timely manner.
Mo and Sports 