The COVID-19 outbreak has seen seemingly immovable norms turn malleable. The BBC will be broadcasting their first ever Premier League game, Saturday 3PM kick-offs will be shown live on air, and we will see our evening matches (Man City v Arsenal on June 17 being the first) being played under natural light instead of floodlights.
Owing to all these changes, it would be foolish to assume that the Premier League which is returning will have the same look as the one which was curtailed this March. However, as debates about the capacity to which Premier League football can return this summer come to their welcomed conclusion, the focus switches towards how the 20 best English teams will perform for the second part of this stagnated season. There will be relegation, there will be a team crowned Champions, and there will be European qualification. Games will take place behind closed doors and VAR will still be in operation.
The first question is that of the general quality of the league upon its resumption. We may expect that two-and-a-half months without any fixtures will take its toll on the intensity of the matches played. The absence of fans may contribute to this too. Yet, there has certainly not been a lack of quality in the Bundesliga since its resumption. Players came back fitter, stronger (Leon Goretzka) and with an ever-greater hunger to put their all into matches. This was displayed to the highest degree in the Dortmund v Bayern fixture played late last month (in which Bayern won 1-0 in a tactically enthralling match).
Owing to all these changes, it would be foolish to assume that the Premier League which is returning will have the same look as the one which was curtailed this March. However, as debates about the capacity to which Premier League football can return this summer come to their welcomed conclusion, the focus switches towards how the 20 best English teams will perform for the second part of this stagnated season. There will be relegation, there will be a team crowned Champions, and there will be European qualification. Games will take place behind closed doors and VAR will still be in operation.
The first question is that of the general quality of the league upon its resumption. We may expect that two-and-a-half months without any fixtures will take its toll on the intensity of the matches played. The absence of fans may contribute to this too. Yet, there has certainly not been a lack of quality in the Bundesliga since its resumption. Players came back fitter, stronger (Leon Goretzka) and with an ever-greater hunger to put their all into matches. This was displayed to the highest degree in the Dortmund v Bayern fixture played late last month (in which Bayern won 1-0 in a tactically enthralling match).
Leon Goretzka in January vs May. Image courtesy of The Sun
Players benefit from tailored diets, workouts and training sessions. They will also be fighting for places in contested squads with injuries healing over this extended break. We expect the intensity and quality of the league to be as high as it ever was. Also, coaches have been able to use this time off to develop and implement specific game plans, which the players have had time to digest. We should expect to see tactically coherent teams with players who are fit and raring to get out on the pitch again.
For a beneficiary of this time off, look no further than Arsenal’s manager, Mikel Arteta. He will be looking to build on the initial stability he brought to North London following his appointment last December. The Spaniard was thrown into a busy fixture list with high expectations. In the short term he managed to address the attitude problems of some of the players and saw results, if not always performances, improve. This time off has given him an opportunity to develop and implement his own style of play, and we could see the performances of his Arsenal side markedly improve.
June 17 will be a huge test for Arteta’s men as they seek to chase Champions League football for the 2020/21 season. This feat may be made slightly easier if the Champions League ban of their opponents – Man City – is upheld.
Another team with sights firmly set on Champions League football is Leicester City who, after an impressive first 29 matches, deservedly sit third in the league table. With a continuance of old form – something James Maddison has backed – Leicester will be able to fulfil the 'dream' of playing in Europe’s most prestigious competition for the second time in under 5 years.
The five teams between Leicester and Arsenal, separated by just seven points, will of course, share the same goal. They will all have the belief that this goal can be achieved too. It is as if a new season is beginning, and players will be rife with optimism. However, it is dangerous to use these teams’ past form as a judgment of where they will end up in ten games’ time, and we will have a much clearer picture of how the Premier League may look at its conclusion after the first round of fixtures have been played.
That being said, Bundesliga teams have seemingly continued their seasons in the same form as they ended them in March. Fortuna Düsseldorf have accrued the same amount of points in the five games post COVID-cancellation as they did in the five before it. Wolfsburg, Bayern and Frankfurt (to name but a few teams) have too been playing similar football and achieving similar results in both March and May.
While using past form to judge how the league will look after 38 games is not a favourable method, one certainty is that Liverpool will be at the table’s summit upon its conclusion. They are currently 25 points clear of Manchester City, and need just two wins to secure the title – you certainly wouldn’t bet against it. Just like Bayern Munich, Klopp and Liverpool will (as the cliché goes) seek to continue the season as they ended it.
For a beneficiary of this time off, look no further than Arsenal’s manager, Mikel Arteta. He will be looking to build on the initial stability he brought to North London following his appointment last December. The Spaniard was thrown into a busy fixture list with high expectations. In the short term he managed to address the attitude problems of some of the players and saw results, if not always performances, improve. This time off has given him an opportunity to develop and implement his own style of play, and we could see the performances of his Arsenal side markedly improve.
June 17 will be a huge test for Arteta’s men as they seek to chase Champions League football for the 2020/21 season. This feat may be made slightly easier if the Champions League ban of their opponents – Man City – is upheld.
Another team with sights firmly set on Champions League football is Leicester City who, after an impressive first 29 matches, deservedly sit third in the league table. With a continuance of old form – something James Maddison has backed – Leicester will be able to fulfil the 'dream' of playing in Europe’s most prestigious competition for the second time in under 5 years.
The five teams between Leicester and Arsenal, separated by just seven points, will of course, share the same goal. They will all have the belief that this goal can be achieved too. It is as if a new season is beginning, and players will be rife with optimism. However, it is dangerous to use these teams’ past form as a judgment of where they will end up in ten games’ time, and we will have a much clearer picture of how the Premier League may look at its conclusion after the first round of fixtures have been played.
That being said, Bundesliga teams have seemingly continued their seasons in the same form as they ended them in March. Fortuna Düsseldorf have accrued the same amount of points in the five games post COVID-cancellation as they did in the five before it. Wolfsburg, Bayern and Frankfurt (to name but a few teams) have too been playing similar football and achieving similar results in both March and May.
While using past form to judge how the league will look after 38 games is not a favourable method, one certainty is that Liverpool will be at the table’s summit upon its conclusion. They are currently 25 points clear of Manchester City, and need just two wins to secure the title – you certainly wouldn’t bet against it. Just like Bayern Munich, Klopp and Liverpool will (as the cliché goes) seek to continue the season as they ended it.
Ayoze Pérez - who has enjoyed a successful first season at Leicester with 12 goal involvements - admitted that he was 'dreaming' of playing Champions League football with The Foxes.
Attitudes of the Premier League’s bottom six were fixed on the abolition of relegation due to the compromised ‘integrity’ of the resuming season. The plan is, however, that the season be finished and that relegations will occur. Upon a glance of the table, it appears that six teams are in grave danger of this – most notably Norwich, who are six points from safety in 20th. There are just four points between 15th placed Brighton and Aston Villa in 19th. These three teams, alongside Bournemouth, Watford and West Ham, will be fighting for their lives and their financial livelihoods from June 17.
History tells us that teams in close relegation battles play with that extra degree of fight and spirit during a run-in, and this should be expected of all these six teams. Again, predicting the combination of teams which will be relegated is an impossible task, but what we can predict is an element of ferocity in all remaining games involving these sides.
There may be an absence of such ferocity however in the matches featuring mid-table teams in the remainder of the season. The likes of Newcastle, Everton and Crystal Palace – who aren’t facing a significant threat of relegation, but for whom European qualification is out of reach – may have already begun turning their attention to rebuilding for next season.
The 2020/21 season will begin very shortly after the 2019/20 season finishes. With this in mind, these teams may desire to rest players and experiment with line-ups and tactics for the remainder of the season. Due to this, we may not see these mid-table men contest too intensely in their final nine or ten matches.
History tells us that teams in close relegation battles play with that extra degree of fight and spirit during a run-in, and this should be expected of all these six teams. Again, predicting the combination of teams which will be relegated is an impossible task, but what we can predict is an element of ferocity in all remaining games involving these sides.
There may be an absence of such ferocity however in the matches featuring mid-table teams in the remainder of the season. The likes of Newcastle, Everton and Crystal Palace – who aren’t facing a significant threat of relegation, but for whom European qualification is out of reach – may have already begun turning their attention to rebuilding for next season.
The 2020/21 season will begin very shortly after the 2019/20 season finishes. With this in mind, these teams may desire to rest players and experiment with line-ups and tactics for the remainder of the season. Due to this, we may not see these mid-table men contest too intensely in their final nine or ten matches.
The threat of relegation is very real for Eddie Howe's men this season. In their first four Premier League seasons, they finished: 16th (2015/16), 9th, 12th and 14th (last season)
While the news headlines are dominated by off-the-pitch matters and the differences we may experience because of these, we conclude that the pure football in itself will not be too different. While the environment in which football matches take place now looks alien to us viewers, the content of these matches will not be dissimilar from what we know.
Taking the Bundesliga as an example, we should expect to see tightly contested, high quality, intense football matches – similar to what we are used to seeing. Teams will resume the season in similar form, and players will resume the season just as fit as (if not fitter than) before. Additionally, they will be more than eager to get started.
On the outside, Premier League football may appear very different to what we are used to, but on-pitch matters will certainly be the same. Though we cannot predict the final Premier League table, we know that the Premier League’s resumption is a welcome treat to starved sports fans across the globe.
Taking the Bundesliga as an example, we should expect to see tightly contested, high quality, intense football matches – similar to what we are used to seeing. Teams will resume the season in similar form, and players will resume the season just as fit as (if not fitter than) before. Additionally, they will be more than eager to get started.
On the outside, Premier League football may appear very different to what we are used to, but on-pitch matters will certainly be the same. Though we cannot predict the final Premier League table, we know that the Premier League’s resumption is a welcome treat to starved sports fans across the globe.
Written by - Ben Rowe
Edited by - 3-At-The-Back
Edited by - 3-At-The-Back