A wave of Covid-19 cases has caused severe disruption to the Premier League over this busy festive period. This presents a dilemma for many clubs and headaches for top-flight leaders.
Omicron has been a new, extremely infectious variant of the Omicron virus that has caused havoc on the football schedule. Infections are rising rapidly and have caused chaos. Some teams have as few as two games left.
The virus almost destroyed Boxing Day’s top-rated match-up, with three of them being cancelled – Liverpool’s game with Leeds, Wolves’ battle with Watford, Everton’s trip at Burnley, and Liverpool’s clash against Leeds.
Crystal Palace requested that their match at Tottenham be delayed, but they were not successful. Sportsmail Understanding their application was received in the morning hours, just hours before north London kick-off.
Here, Sportsmail This article examines the dire situation of the coronavirus within the division.
Steven Gerrard has been confirmed positive for Covid-19. Premier League was ravaged with virus chaos
Crystal Palace tried to postpone their match at Tottenham, but was defeated 3-0
What was the impact of Boxing Day?
Only six out of the nine Premier League fixtures that were scheduled for yesterday went ahead. The game was set for five hours. However, Palace made a request to have their fixture postponed by the Premier League.
Liverpool vs Leeds was scheduled to take place at 12.30. However, the backlog caused by five positive Covid-19 reports from their staff and first-team, Liverpool fell prey to this. The backlog forced them to shut down their Thorp Arch training grounds for two days.
It has been a great success rate at the club to get vaccinated. The virus is not being reported as an symptom. Leeds, however, would have struggled to find enough first-team players without them.
The same fate was alsofalling Wolves clash against Watford at Molineux. It was again the traveling side that requested postponement. This happened after matches against Crystal Palace and Burnley were cancelled due to the outbreak.
Marcelo Bielsa was the side that scored positives, and Leeds’ trip from Leeds to Liverpool was cancelled on Boxing Day.
Burnley’s fixture against Everton takes place in the third set. Although the Premier League rejected Burnley’s request to postpone the match, they eventually accepted it ‘following additional injuries to the squad.
There were six matches left. Manchester City won six of them against Leicester, making it the most exciting matchup. Other matches saw Arsenal defeat Norwich and Tottenham win beyond Crystal Palace. Chelsea won against Aston Villa.
Although Leicester struggled to mount Covid cases, they are now back at full strength with many players who have returned from injuries and self-isolation. They called an early halt to their first-team operations on the training ground earlier this month.
Dean Smith, Norwich Manager, confirmed that the side received fresh coronavirus samples in camp before facing Arsenal.
The night prior to the game, another round of PCR test was conducted at Carrow Road.
Palace was without Patrick Vieira as manager, and Osian Roberts took over the goal line.
In the top of the disruptioned festive fixture lists, Manchester City defeated Leicester 6-3
Michail Anthony returned to West Ham for their defeat against Southampton at London Stadium. Lyanco was absent from the visitors’ team due to Covid-19. Clubs are not known to divulge the names of their absentees from virus tests.
After a positive test, Steven Gerrard was the second Premier League manager to be absent from the dugout. He was forced to be at home watching his Aston Villa side lose 3-1 to Chelsea.
Brighton hosted several Covid players and injured for the clash against Brentford. This match took place after an eleven-day break from their loss to Wolves. Although the Bees were hit by an illness last week, they still managed to field a solid team in their 2-0 defeat.
How about the next game?
Two of tomorrow’s Premier League fixtures have been postponed. Aston Villa vs Leeds and Arsenal Vs Wolves will both be played later. This leaves eight games for the remaining three days.
Tomorrow Southampton will host Tottenham Hotspur, Watford hosts West Ham and Crystal Palace is back in battle with Vieira, their boss, against Norwich, while Liverpool travels to Leicester. These matches will continue as per schedule.
Arsenal beat Norwich at Carrow Road but the match with Wolves was called off.
Covid’s constantly changing nature means that this is not a certain thing. However, clubs should be aware of new cases today and tomorrow.
Current circumstances at Spurs and Southampton will likely see them play, with West Ham expected to face Watford following a prolonged break.
Crystal Palace might be worried about new positive results following the loss of a few first-teamers at Tottenham. But, it is possible that the Premier League will once more want to see the side win.
After being infected by the virus, Liverpool, Leicester, and Norwich appear to be healthier and will contest their matches tomorrow.
Chelsea will play Brighton at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday and Manchester City will travel to Brentford. The fixtures should go ahead again, barring any unexpected changes to the Covid situations at either club.
Mid-week action concludes with two games on Thursday: Everton will face Newcastle, and Manchester United will host Burnley.
It will all depend on whether the Toffees are able to fulfil their obligations in this game. United, however, is strong.
Manchester United is three games behind the top four league rivals. Take on Newcastle today
After the ministers ended their isolation, a major boost was received by clubs.
The health chiefs said that people with positive Covid tests can now be released seven days after they have tested negative for the disease on days six through seven.
The pandemic will now allow players to get back to work faster than ever before, so those who have been absent may soon be closer to making a quick return.
Which one is trying to catch up?
A quick look at the Premier League table will reveal a strange state of affairs. Some clubs are on top, while others fall behind.
Liverpool has only 18 matches, while the other four top teams have played 19 each. Tottenham, Watford and Manchester United have both contested 16, while Tottenham has only contested 16.
Burnley have suffered the greatest impact, however. Sean Dyche’s team has played just 15 games. This leaves them with difficult talks as they try to get out of the relegation zone. They currently are only two points off safety.
The top-flight bosses will work over the coming weeks and months to make sure that all postponed games are played. There will still be fixture problems as the pandemic continues to ravage the globe.
Sean Dyche manages Burnley. They have played 15 matches this season.