FAST AND FURIOUS RUN TO THE FINISH

THE English Premier League will emerge from the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic this week for what will be a 92-match slog to the finish.

The league will resume three months after it was shut down, albeit behind closed doors.

The action will come thick and fast from early tomorrow, when Aston Villa welcomes Sheffield United before Manchester City hosts Arsenal.

Provided there is no surge in coronavirus infections, the season will finish on July 26.

So where do things stand?

It is easy to overlook, but by the sublime standards Liverpool has set this season, the runaway league leader was having a wobble.

A 3-0 defeat by Watford at the end of February dashed its hopes of going through the league season unbeaten.

Liverpool then lost to Chelsea in the FA Cup and, in its last game before the lockdown, was beaten at Anfield by Atletico Madrid to bow out of the Champions League. Crisis? Hardly.

Juergen Klopp’s side is 25 points clear at the top and if Manchester

C City loses to Arsenal, it can wrap up it its first title since 1990 at, of all places, city rival Everton on Monday morning.

With nine games to play, the Reds also have Premier League records in sight. They need 19 more points to surpass the record 100 Manchester City amassed two seasons ago and are on track to shatter the Citizens’ record 19-point winning margin. Six more wins would also surpass City’s 32 victories from 2017-18.

With Manchester City banned from Europe next season, pending the outcome of an appeal, the battle for a top-four finish and qualification for the Champions League remains wide open.

Third-placed Leicester City remains well placed, while

Chelsea and a resurgent Manchester United occupy fourth and fifth places.

However, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Sheffield United, Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal and even Burnley and Crystal Palace are within striking range if they can hit form.

Norwich City is bottom, six points from safety, but has shown enough to suggest it is not a lost cause.

Aston Villa, which has played a game less, and Bournemouth occupy the other two relegation places, but Watford, West Ham United and Brighton & Hove Albion — featuring Socceroos Mat Ryan and Aaron Mooy — all face a nervous few weeks trying to guarantee their top-flight status.