According to Chief Executive Richard Masters, the Premier League intends to have fans in the stands for the final two rounds of matches this season.
Up to 10,000 supporters will be allowed into stadiums starting Monday, May 17th, assuming the government sticks to its timetable. Meanwhile, soccer betting on leagues continues with top European leagues starting to take shape.
To retain a competitive balance and ensure that all 20 clubs have the opportunity to play a home game in front of their own supporters, a round of fixtures will be rescheduled for the 18th and 20th of May.
The final round of games will take place on May 23.
“Hopefully the final two fixtures of our season will have up to 10,000 supporters in them all,” said Masters.
“We’ve got to go past those first initial steps in the government’s roadmap to get there, so hopefully that will be a fantastic finale to end the season.”
The Premier League has two viable choices for rearranging its schedule.
The 36th round of games should be shifted to the following week from Tuesday, May 11 and Wednesday, May 12.
The other option is to reschedule those games to the next weekend – which would coincide with the FA Cup final on Saturday, May 15 – and to move the 37th round forward a few days to make it a midweek round.
The return of fans to stadiums will be a hopeful ending to the Premier League’s difficult time.
The loss of fans for nearly a full season plus a quarter of the 2019-20 season – on top of the refund that had to be provided to broadcasters due to last season’s late finish – would come at a high price, according to Masters.
“By the end of this season, we’ll have lost about £2 billion in matchday and broadcast sales since the start of the pandemic,” predicted Masters.
“Clubs have continued to invest in competitive match-day squads and the Premier League has continued to make good all of its contributions throughout the pyramid and wider football. But the ramifications are that ultimately if there’s less money coming into football, then there’ll be less money going out in the short term.”
Manchester City, the Betway favourites to win the English Premier League will be happy with the news, and expect that at least Etihad will accommodate some fans when they receive their trophy.
After the international break, Manchester City hosts Leicester City in the hopes of taking a big step towards reclaiming the Premier League crown.
Pep Guardiola’s side is 14 points ahead of Manchester United at the top of the table, with Leicester a point behind in third. The Foxes are 200/1 with Betway to beat their hosts in the final third of the season, which is a reasonable reflection of their chances.
Similarly, even the most jaded Red would find it difficult to ignore the 150/1 odds on United winning the title on offer.
