The Premier League is just a few weeks away from resuming its season.
England's highest professional soccer division will restart the season on June 17 behind closed doors with no fans, the league confirmed in a statement on Thursday. The Telegraph was first to report the news.
📅 17.06.2020
— Premier League (@premierleague) May 28, 2020
Premier League Shareholders today agreed to a new provisional restart date for the 2019/20 season of Wednesday 17 June, provided that all safety requirements are in place
Two matches will reportedly be played on June 17, with Sheffield United hosting Aston Villa and Manchester City hosting Arsenal. By the end of the weekend, a full slate of matches will be played.
The Premier League is hoping to be the second major soccer league to resume its season amid the coronavirus pandemic. The Bundesliga, Germany's top division, resumed action on May 16 with no fans.
The league has been suspended since March 13. Clubs resumed training last week, and on Wednesday, they were allowed to begin contact training.
Should the Premier League want to finish a full 38-match slate, there are 92 fixtures left to be played. According to The Telegraph, the league is hoping to play all remaining matches over a condensed six-week period, concluding the season by the beginning of August.
Liverpool currently sits atop the table with a 25 point lead over Manchester City with less than 10 matches remaining. The Reds have not captured a Premier League title in 30 years. Liverpool could clinch the league title with a victory in their first match back and a Manchester City defeat.
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