Plenty to ponder in EPL restart
The English Premier League resumes today after its 100-day stoppage because of the coronavirus outbreak and there are issues to resolve throughout the division.
Some talking points ahead of the resumption of the Premier League following a threemonth suspension caused by the coronavirus pandemic:
RECORD-BREAKING REDS
The fact that Liverpool will win their first English league title in 30 years is not really in doubt.
Still to be ascertained, however, is how much of a record-breaking season this will be for the team coached by Jurgen Klopp.
Liverpool need 19 more points from their remaining nine games to break the record total for a season of 100, set by Manchester City’s title-winning team of 2017-18. That same City team had the biggest title-winning margin of 19 points – Liverpool currently lead by 25.
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
Manchester City’s two-year European ban, which is currently under appeal, has opened up the race for Champions League qualification because a fifth-place finish could now secure a place in the competition.
Seven teams are in realistic contention for the remaining three spots alongside champion-elect Liverpool, from third-place Leicester down to ninth-place Arsenal.
Leicester are 10 points clear of sixth-place Wolverhampton Wanderers, so are in good shape for a second Champions League campaign in five years.
Chelsea have held fourth place for much of the season, but had seen the gap to fifth-place Manchester United shrink to three points on the back of only two wins from seven games before the shutdown.
Much intrigue, too, lies in the fate of Sheffield United, who were widely expected to be a relegation candidate this season but are two points behind Man United with a game in hand.
FIGHT FOR SURVIVAL
Could the 60,000-seat Olympic Stadium in London be playing host to second-division soccer next season?
West Ham, the stadium’s tenant, are among the six teams in realistic danger of relegation going into the last six weeks, currently only out of the bottom three on goal difference.
And with matches against Champions League-chasing teams Wolverhampton Wanderers, Tottenham and Chelsea to start with, the team led by David Moyes could soon be plunged into the relegation zone.
BIG-TEAM BENEFIT
There’s a strong chance the bigger clubs will thrive in this pandemic-delayed run-in.
The temporary law change that allows teams to make five substitutes instead of three in a single match should benefit those with deeper squads, typically the richer and higher-ranked teams.
Similarly, those clubs should be able to better negotiate a congested schedule of nine or 10 league games – plus FA Cup matches in some cases — in a six-week period because of their squad strength.
STAY OR GO?
More than 70 players are out of contract on June 30, about a month before the reshaped season is scheduled to end.
The Premier League is allowing clubs to enter into short-term contract extensions with players through to the end of the season, provided they are agreed to by June 23.