Premier League managers have debated the merits of continuing the season amid a coronavirus resurgence which continues to wreak havoc with scheduling at all levels of the English game.
Aston Villa’s FA Cup tie against Liverpool on Friday night is set to go ahead even though nine players and five members of staff at the midlands club are understood to have tested positive for Covid-19.
Villa will field a line-up featuring under-23 and under-18 players for the cup tie, but question marks surround their ability to fulfil the Premier League fixture against Tottenham on Wednesday and the following weekend’s game against Everton.
It is understood almost a third of those cases centred on three clubs with most averaging one or two, but nevertheless it remains a concern.
The competition will introduce mandatory twice-weekly testing from next week, funded by the Professional Footballers’ Association.
While Villa’s tie against Liverpool is on, Shrewsbury’s trip to Southampton has been postponed due to a coronavirus outbreak at the League One club. The Football Association’s Professional Game Board will make a decision early next week as to what will happen with the fixture.
Like Villa, Derby will field a youth team in their cup tie against Chorley. Middlesbrough have seen preparations for their game at Brentford on Saturday disrupted by a series of positive tests, while Bees head coach Thomas Frank has also tested positive.
Lower down the pyramid, the boards of the Northern Premier League, the Isthmian League and the Southern League have made a united call for their seasons to be declared null and void.
