This weekend’s Premier League matches between Southampton and Brentford, Watford and Crystal Palace, West Ham and Norwich, and Everton against Leicester have all been postponed due to Covid-19 outbreaks, the Premier League has announced.
In addition to Manchester United’s earlier postponement of Brighton, five matches from this weekend are now omitted.
But, the Premier League continues to resist a total suspension of weekend programming and released a statement saying: ‘All other fixtures due for play this weekend are currently scheduled as per plan.
Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers was unable to put together a 14-man squad for Everton clash
After Thursday’s defeat to Tottenham, Leicester has confirmed that Sunday’s Premier League match at Everton against Everton was postponed.
The Foxes are one of many top-flight clubs to suffer a Covid-19 outbreak within the squad, which left them unable to put together a 14-man squad – the League’s minimum requirement – to face Spurs.
Mail Online reports that Leicester had announced on Thursday afternoon that they were closing down their training grounds for 48 hours. This meant their chance of meeting Rafael Benitez at Goodison Park was becoming increasingly slim.
Thomas Frank, Brentford’s boss, demanded all fixtures be called off this weekend
The Leicester Statement read, “Leicester City Football Club confirms that Sunday’s Premier League Visit to Everton was postponed following a meeting by the Premier League Board.”
The decision was taken following the delay of the Tottenham Hotspur fixture on Thursday evening. It was also made with the guidance of medical advisors, in view of additional positive COVID-19 testing within Leicester City’s First Team Squad during the previous 24 hours.
Seagrave’s ‘First Team’ operations will be closed for 48 hours in order to minimize the chance of infection.
Norwich were without a number of players in Tuesday’s defeat against Aston Villa
“The Club regrets any inconvenience that this postponement has caused for Everton fans and Leicester City residents. We will confirm a new date in the coming days.
Brendan Rodgers was the manager and expressed concerns Wednesday about the League prioritizing television over health for players or staff.
He replied, “I am pretty certain that this is the case. All players and managers want the same thing: to win. However, the most important thing is the health and well-being of the players.
“If there are players, the product will be better. Whatever team you put out, supporters will demand you win the game, and for some squads – ourselves included – that’s a real challenge at the moment.’