This weekend saw the welcome return of football in Germany, and now we watch and wait for the next European league to follow the lead.
The top competitions, La Liga, Serie A and the Premier League have been asked by UEFA to provide an update and proposed restart date by the 25th May, two days before Europe’s governing body meets to discuss the resumption of the Champions League and the Europa League.
In England, a restart date for 12th June has been mooted, but not everyone in the Premier League has been eager to get back to action. But we expect to see most if not all the clubs to return to training this week and with strict protocols.
Club captains, coaches and the players’ union have discussed a return with social distancing measures. Clubs have been conducting COVID-19 tests over the weekend, with results expected later today. With over 1,600 tests a week across the 20 clubs, any players who have the virus will be immediately isolated.
These are slow and careful steps which, if successful, could see a resumption in play within a month.
Keep an eye open for the Premier League 2020 betting odds here at SBOBET over the next two or three weeks. If the restart happens on schedule, we’ll be back with all the very best Asian Handicap betting offers on the market.
Of course, the most eager fans will be in Merseyside, as Liverpool can win the title within two weeks of a restart, while Manchester United will also be keen to see if they can chase down Chelsea for the final Champions League slot.
Bundesliga shows the way
All eyes were on Germany this weekend as the Bundesliga got up and running after two months of lockdown.
The ‘mother of all derbies’ between Borussia Dortmund and Schalke 04 resulted in a resounding 4-0 victory for BVB. The match was played in an eerie atmosphere with fewer than 300 people allowed to watch in the 81,000 capacity stadium
There was no Yellow Wall and no wild goal celebrations, but the German giants showed the rest of Europe how it can be done.
There were fears, particularly in Dortmund, that some fans might ignore instructions and congregate around the stadium, but all the surrounding streets were cordoned off by police.
Germany has the highest weekly attendances in European football but supporters were threatened that games would be immediately called off if they turned up outside the stadium. That seemed to do the trick, particularly as BVB stormed into an early lead when striker Erling Haaland breached the Schalke defence.
Despite the defeat, Schalke sporting director Jochen Schneider knows how important the Bundesliga restart is for the rest of Europe, saying: “We got calls and emails from big clubs in Spain and England and I know they really hope that we manage this situation so that other leagues can restart as well.”
Pearson urges caution
Last week we ran the rule over the relegation candidates, those in fear of losing their Premier League status and the hundreds of millions that go with it.
There has been some criticism in the UK media of the bottom six (I’ll hold my hands up), and their seeming reticence to return to football, with some reports suggesting they even wanted to see relegation scrapped. Paul Barber, chief executive at Brighton, has been particularly vocal and this week it’s the turn of Watford head coach Nigel Pearson.
The Hornets pulled off one of the biggest Premier League 2020 results of the season, just before the enforced break, hammering champions-elect Liverpool 3-0.
Pearson has recently said that a premature return to football would mean that people are closing their eyes to the risk. And as his side sits outside the bottom three on goal difference alone, he allegedly claimed in a Premier League managers’ conference call that by coming back to play the top-flight clubs would be providing propaganda for the government.
But he does have form for the bizarre does our Nigel, once, as coach at Leicester, he responded to a probing question from a journalist by calling him an ostrich!
Apparently, Spurs head coach Jose Mourinho advised those who didn’t want to return to play to stay at home and watch the Bundesliga.
Subtle as ever Jose…some things in football never change…thankfully.
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